The Storyteller
by Agustina Kazuyo
Summary: Kagome is gone forever. Her family is left in another time with nothing but her memory... and an inu-hanyou to tell the story. "It all got messed up when Miroku and Sango's son died... it only got worse when Inuyasha left her." LATEST! Ch.28: "I'm mating Nashiko," Inuyasha said, and it wasn't a question. Miroku eyed him impassively. "No." INUxKAG, SESSxKAG (no love triangle), CU
1. Prologue: Left behind

**Author's note:** Name's Agustina, but you can call me whatever you want ^^ A thing you must know about me is that I find it almost impossible to fantasize out-of-canon. Hence, most of my stories happen within the canon universe.

 **About this story:** Immediatly after the last episode of the series, this is the story of what happened to Kagome and the rest during the five hundred years that separated her from her family, and how she discovered her pain wasn't even close to end. I hope you enjoy it

 **Disclaimer:** unnecessary, isn't it? this is a fanfiction site! Still, Inuyasha belongs to R. Takahashi. Let's all thank her for her awesome job

* * *

 **Prologue**

 _ **Left behind**_

As soon as the blue skylight faded, taking Kagome to Inuyasha, Mrs. Higurashi knew she would never see her daughter again.

She sighed and turned to see her father in law and her son, who were wiping away the tears. She knew she could not let her grief show, as much as she knew her daughter did not belong by their side anymore.

"Well," after a long while she started with a soft voice and a smile, "I'm happy for her and you should be too. Let's go inside."

Souta shook his head and his lips trembled as new tears crossed his cheeks. This time he did not move to wipe them away.

The old man by his side placed a heavy, rough hand on his shoulder. "We'll let you have some time for yourself. Your mother and I will be waiting inside."

And so, with slow pace and worried glances, the two adults left the boy alone, who remained still in the darkness.

The well-house smelled like fresh air and grass, an odd scent that he had never felt there before. He sat on one of the steps, staring at the now ordinary wooden well with wet eyes.

Suddenly he stood up and glared at the empty depth with fury.

"So you left us too," he spat with hardly contained rage.

He kicked the wood softly and put his hands in his pockets. His lips pressed into a tight line and he felt the need to deal a stronger blow to the well. And so he did. The tears began to fall again and he clenched his teeth as the kicks' intensity increased. "I hate you!" he yelled as the sole of his foot kept on stomping against the ancient lumber. "How could you leave us alone too? How could you love them more than you loved us!?" He sniffed with wrath in his pupils and tightened fists. "I HATE YOU!" he screamed again and dealt a final hit to the wood, cracking a board in two.

Suddenly he felt guilty, but the rage took away the remorse. He stood there again, but there was no more crying.

He whirled and silently swore to himself he would never think of his sister again.

"Oi, you shouldn't be breaking important stuff like that…"

He started and almost fell back. Inuyasha, the one for whom his sister had left them forever, was standing at the entrance, leaning against the door frame.


	2. Welcome

**Author's note:** This would actually be the first chapter of the story, since "Left Behind" is the prologue :3 But for the sake of organization, let's just roll with this numeration.

This story's first 3 chapters (if you count the prologue) are kinda slow, but trust me, shit goes down from then on. I hope you can stand these introductory part! It's awfully necessary.

 **Disclaimer:** Unnecessary, isn't it? This is a fanfiction site! Still, Inuyasha belongs to R. Takahashi. Let's all thank her for her awesome job

* * *

 **Welcome**

He had been preparing himself for this moment ever since he could remember. He knew the day, he knew the time, and he had rehearsed what he would say during that reunion. He expected the initial confusion, having to repeat the details over and over again... He had told himself he was ready for this and he had accepted the weight of the responsibility to be all his. He had even planned the way he would tell them step by step.

But right now, he was plain confused.

The twelve years old boy had listened to the very short introduction he had given him. He expected more of his anger, but he was welcomed with relief and a bright smile, and invited into the house.

As soon as they opened the door, the old man greeted them with enthusiasm and a warm hug. "Inuyasha! Such a long time no see! What are you doing here? Kagome just left to look for you!"

At the sound of the names, the woman came running from the kitchen, wearing rubber gloves covered in soap dish and warm water. She run to him and held him in an embrace the hanyou was too embarrassed to return. "We hadn't seen you in years! We've missed you so much!"

The half-breed took a step back as the human boy grabbed her mother's arm and pulled her away. "This isn't Inu no nii-chan, mama… This is sister's son…"

The lady stared at her kid and then at the hanyou with a stunned expression. She took her gloves off and let them fall to the floor with a sounding _splat_. Carefully, her hand cupped his cheek and she inspected his face for a long moment.

The hybrid's white, fluffy ears crooked in odd angles and he offered a forced, awkward smile that revealed two white, pointy fangs.

And she found it. There was a curve in his upper lip when he smiled, one that had make her fall for her deceased husband, one both of her children had inherited. A predominant gene, surely, but there was more to it. It was her husband's spirit in the face of his kids.

She let go of the hanyou and took a step back. For the first time, she noticed the obvious.

Although he could have passed by Inuyasha's twin brother, he was a tad taller and slimmer, and looked just a bit older. He also, and surprisingly, had colorful marks decorating his face. How could they not notice before? One magenta stripe on each cheek and on his eyelids seemed to be just part of his skin, not tattooed nor painted. His silver hair was shorter than Inuyasha's, reaching only his waist. His fluffy ears were just identical.

He also wore the bright red haori the other hanyou always sported, but just as some sort of jacket. Underneath he dressed plain jeans, trainers, and a shirt with a foreign inscription she couldn't understand. She had never been too good with English. In his hand there was a black baseball cap.

Hanging on his hip on the right side, two katana swords rested together, one red and silver, and one grey and golden hilted.

If it wasn't for that angle in his smile, she could never believe it was not Inuyasha in front of her bearing pretty facial markings.

She was at loss of words.

"Name's Yuukimaru," he said, with flushed striped cheeks, once the silence had grown awkward enough. "I'm the second and youngest."

He could as well have said nothing, because it looked like his grandmother had not heard a single word. She was staring, and by the life of him he could not guess what the expression she had on her face meant.

Suddenly the woman threw herself at him and crushed his body with a fierce hug that would make a human gap for air. He was startled for a moment, but then decided to deal with his first 'granny-hug' and let her embrace him.

The woman finally let go of him and he could still not look at her. His face was burning red.

"You heard that, grandpa? You are a great-grandfather!" Souta announced.

The hanyou's ear twitched and he came back down to Earth while shaking his head. "No, he's a great-great-grandfather already… Brother just had another pup and…" He scratched his cheek across a stripe with a clawed finger and sighed a muttered _keh_.

The old man's jaw had dropped and he was muted in astonishment. Suddenly his eyes were flooding with tears of happiness and he was hugging him by the waist and screaming nonsense in excited tones, while the boy tried to make him stop blabbering.

Mrs. Higurashi smiled with droplets in her lashes she didn't allow to fall. She wiped them away with the tip of her fingers and muttered her happiness and relief under her breath. "Would you like to have something to eat? Tea? Come; let's go to the dining room."

That was when he got lost. Just like that? Just as easily? The grandpa, his great-grandfather, would not try to purify him? His uncle wasn't angry anymore? His grandmother treated him like a member of the family already?

He sat by the table with his legs and arms crossed, eyes shut and ears twitching in concentration. The scent of green tea steaming under his nose made him peek at the family, who were sitting around him, staring in expecting silence.

He took a deep breath and let it all out. He placed his clawed hand around the cup and gave it a little sip, almost letting it fall when he realized it was way too hot.

He cleared his throat.

"Mother wanted me to tell y'all what happened to her," he began. "To everyone, actually. She knew you'd all be hella sad if you just never knew what was of 'em."

The three of them nodded and he continued. "But I can't drop a bomb like that on ya… So… Here's the deal… We'll tell you a bit at a time, so you can put up with it easier… Brother and his family want you to visit as soon as possible, maybe this week, s'that ok? They say you can even stay there for the weekend if you want. Or, you know, more if you'd like, whatever. You're all pack, so if you want to live with us, you are welcomed, y'know? Keh, I'm sure that's what Brother wants anyway. He felt awful that they couldn't travel with the new pup and all..."

He trailed off. The humans looked at each other and came to an immediate and wordless agreement. The mother spoke on behalf of them all, "Summer recess just started. We could go on Saturday, is that ok? We could maybe stay a week. Mrs. Yoshiyuki could take care of Buyo… We should take that sake we were saving for a special occasion!"

They were all nodding at the same time and Yuukimaru felt more at loss than ever. They had met no more than ten minutes ago and they were already planning a vacation together. It was ridiculously intimate, ridiculously fast. He had even felt awkward for making the offer in the first place!

But, then again, they _were_ his mom's family, and if they were anything like her they were kind towards everyone and knew right away who to trust.

A smirk adorned the side of his mouth.

Old Myouga used to say, back when he was alive, that he was one lucky pup. He had family and friends that loved him, rivals that respected him, someone he treasured who was fated to be his mate since they had met when they were kids, power, honor, pride… He had never felt ashamed of his hybrid blood or who he was; actually he was rather smug about it. He never had to take the hating stares of humans or demons all alone; he never knew the pain of seeing a loved one die. And now, centuries later, after having lost his mother, he had found new pack mates, he was a part of a family and loved by these humans. That was quite new for him.

 _"A lucky pup indeed,"_ Old Myouga would have said. Wasn't that the story of his life since the very beginning?

After the vacation matter was settled, he managed to ask a few questions to fill in details his mom had forgotten to clarify; and soon he found himself in light conversation as if they had known each other forever. His grandma was a typical, pampering granny, gramps was just as Mother had described him, and Souta reminded him too much of his own eldest nephew.

He almost forgot why he was there at all.

Almost.

By dinner he had numbered most of the things he liked, talked about his brother and the in-laws, beaten Souta in his own videogame, showed Buyo who was in charge, and watched gramps favorite soapie by his side. He demanded to do the dishes and help with the next day chores, and he was forced to promise to teach his little uncle a sword lesson or two.

He suspected his new family members were avoiding asking about his mother. Maybe they were as scared of hearing it as he was scared of telling them...

When bedtime arrived, Mrs. Higurashi offered to set a futon for him, but he refused. "Too fluffy," he said. "The floor's good."

"Would you like to sleep on Kagome's room?"

His ears snapped forward. Ever since his grandfather had died and his mom, uncle, and grandma had moved to the shrine, he had secretly been around, spying on the family he one day would reveal himself to. He had seen his own mother asleep and awake, as a child and later as a teenager, and in one occasion or two, downwind, he had seen the other hanyou that visited the house now and then from afar.

Being _invited_ into his mom's room was a much different business. She had just left that morning and her scent would be the closest possible to what he remembered. He could explore, maybe he could understand her a little better…

Almost dumbstruck, he nodded and was lead to the room. His body trembled when the smell hit his nose. He could almost see his mom, when she was young, doing her homework, sleeping, or calling 'Inuyasha, is that you?' when she felt his hanyou aura as he got too close to check on her.

But at the same time he could almost see her singing him a lullaby, encouraging him not to give up on archery although he _sucked_ big time at it… Holding his old man's hand… Talking about her mama… Crying now and then…

Shit, he _missed_ his mom. He was over four hundred years old, wasn't he a bit too grown-up for that?

"Yuuki-chan…"he whirled quickly to look at his grandma, still a little overwhelmed, so much he didn't even notice the nickname. "Can I ask you a question?"

"Sure, shoot."

"Kagome… was she happy?"

That was the only thing that mattered and he knew it. "Guess she was… She surely looked like it… I do know she made everyone around her very damn happy."

The woman nodded and smiled, wished goodnight and left him to explore.

It took him less than half an hour to give in and cuddle on the pink bed, hugging Tessaiga and Leadership, his swords, against his chest. They pulsated softly in a rhythm that sent soothing waves across the room. He was almost sure that they didn't only talk to him, but also to each other. And tonight they seemed happy.

 _"Old man… Father… Momma…"_

He was home.

* * *

 **A/N:** As a rule I tend to avoid OCs, but for this specific story I just needed one. Yuukimaru means, depending on how you write it, snow/white/lucky boy. His personality is a lot like Inuyasha's, although you can see Kagome in him here and there. He's quite losen up, since he never experienced true pain until he lost his mother, and it didn't really struck him as hard as it could have. I don't think you will see a lot of his future mate or friends, since this story is not about him, so if you are curious, I might write a one-shot spin-off to mention his mate and the others.

Tell me pleaaaase if you find anyone to be OOC or if you notice any mistake at all. Review, I'd love to hear what you think :3


	3. Let me tell ya

**Author's note:** A shortie for this chapter. I know it might be a bit slow at first, but trust me, the good stuff starts right now!

 **Disclaimer:** Unnecessary, isn't it? This is a fanfiction site! Still, Inuyasha belongs to R. Takahashi. Let's all thank her for her awesome job

* * *

 **Let me tell ya**

Yuukimaru not only had a car and a license, he was a good driver. To Souta it was exceedingly bizarre to see his new nephew, an almost exact copy of Inu no nii-chan, using a cell phone, watching the news, fixing the washing machine… and now _driving._ Inuyasha could barely make it through the day without attacking anything invented in the last century, but it seemed to be this hanyou's cup of tea.

He was thankful, though, that they didn't have to make this trip by train or plane. His family had never owned a car and this was a brand new experience he was fully enjoying.

Music, games, talks. Their destination was several hours away, close to Mount Nantai, but, except for the not too few stops they had to make for gramps to use a bathroom and a lunch break, he could feel the time fly.

"Everyone's gotta make a road trip once in their lives, don't ya think?" the half-breed had said while he packed the bags first thing in the morning.

Mrs. Higurashi was utterly glad they had this opportunity now that Souta was not yet in his teen years, when too much time in the same place with his mother and grandfather would be the equivalent of death by boredom.

She looked at her son, by her side in the back seat. He was telling a story about one of his classmates with exaggerated hand gestures. He had insisted upon sitting in the front, but her grandson explained that packs had very strict rules and that the elders were always given the place of honor.

Souta had brightened again at the thought of belonging to a _pack._ To be honest, they all had. And so, he agreed to follow the rules.

"… And she says, ' _well, what would YOU have done?_ '"

Yuukimaru left out a bark of mirth loud and deep when hearing the ending of his uncle's story. He had to catch his breath by the time he was done laughing and he cleaned a tear from the corner of his eye, shaking his head. "Please tell me they didn't let her take the exam after that…"

"Nuh-uh, she was sent to detention right away."

"She's got guts, I give her that…"

"Kids these days," sighed the old man on the passenger's seat, then let out a tiny chuckle.

"Now it's your turn to tell a story, Inu no oi-chan, tell us one about nee-chan."

The hanyou's ears moved under his cap as he considered the request. He began telling the story of how a fortune teller had fooled Jinenji, and left him without any goods or his promised girlfriend. "She was full of shh…" his eyes snapped to the rear mirror and he saw the reproving look of his grandma, who in no way approved of foul language. He coughed. "Well, she was a total sham, yeah, but the women liked to consult their future, and somehow she convinced him to give her his cart, some rice, and a chicken. Keh, poor horse faced idiot, he fell so hard for it."

"What happened then?"

"Mother used to say he cried so much his plants almost didn't needed no watering that season... She felt so bad for him she convinced one youkai girl she knew and owed her big, I don't know, to have a date with him. She went and organized a full twentieth century date night for 'em, with dinner and a play with all the kids of the village… When Jinenji gave her some flowers he used to grow for his mom's grave, she got all in love, but in like, a weird way. She turned out so clingy Jinenji had to break up with her and run away for a while so she wouldn't find him. He would hide under a blanket or in the forest until she left the village. Ever since he wants nothing to do with 'em women, he's scared to death of the _concept_ of a girlfriend."

Souta giggled and Mrs. Higurashi expressed her pity.

"I had a girlfriend like that once. But she didn't let me off the hook and there was no place to hide… She got me married!"

This time even the lady laughed a bit and Yuukimaru's smile only broadened. "All because of that damn fortune-teller… she did said a couple of truths, tho'. She told Mother she would have two sons…" He remained silent for a moment, and his smile faded away, leaving a thoughtful expression behind. "Thinking of it, maybe that's what started it all," he muttered to himself.

A street sign brought him back from his thoughts.

"We are like an hour or two away, so I better warn ya… Youkai do a lot of weird stuff, hell, even weird for me. And you are gonna be dealing with quite the variety. There's a couple of hanyou too, but don't worry 'bout 'em. Jinenji's a big pushover and the others are never around. They all like or at least tolerate humans, sure, but they might not know _exactly_ how to treat 'em… So if someone's doing anything weird, try to think 'what does that mean in dog or cat?' And you're good to go."

He had mentioned this kind of things before, and they all were equally confused about it. He had made it clear that his brother was a full blooded youkai, same as his mate and their pups. It confused them, but neither of the adults thought asking would be polite.

Souta leaned forward and rest his head on his grandfather's seat's back. "How come nee-chan had a youkai baby? I don't get it" he suddenly blurted, as smooth as sandpaper, startling the elder humans who were quietly avoiding the question.

The hanyou snorted, "He's adopted, of course, you genius…"

"Adopted?" the three humans asked at once and Yuukimaru's eyes drifted away from the road for a second to look at them with puzzled eyes.

"What y'all talking about? Mother adopted Brother pretty much right after the Jewel broke, before even _meeting_ the others… she must have told you about him!"

Realization struck the woman, "Do you mean Shippou-chan? The kitsune?"

"Yeah, that's him!"

"She never really _specified_ … I'm not really surprised; she was very motherly when she talked about him," she mused out loud.

"Tell us more about it!" Souta begged.

Yuukimaru tilted his head to the side. "Well, we are kinda close; I don't think it'll hurt if I start the story without Brother."

Under his cap, his ears moved as he decided the best way to begin.

"It all got messed up right after Sango and Miroku's son died."

* * *

 **A/N:** I'm a fan of cliffhangers, didn't I mention? Pleaaase review and tell me what you think :D


	4. Broken

A/N: **Yay, I've spent 48 hrs without sleeping, but here it is!** 20 pages of... well, give it a look  yourselves! This is, I promise, the chapter where things get **interesting** :3 Try not to kill me towards the end.

A small warning: things get a little spicy in this chapter, although I'm not sure it can even count as _limes_ ^^

 **Broken**

Sango held Kagome in a tight embrace with happy tears in her eyes. When she pulled back she gave her a warm look. "I _knew_ you'd come back… Here, I'd like you to meet someone."

The taijiya walked towards the twins that fidgeted in her husband's arms. "This is Momoko," she announced, caressing the head of a pink-cladded girl. "And this is Nashiko," the second girl wore green and was identical to her sister, but she wrinkled her nose with a smile when her mom patted her hair. "Girls, this is your auntie Kagome-chan, remember her from the stories?"

Both toddlers practically threw themselves at her with giggles, and Kagome struggled to catch them both. Shippo, who was still on her shoulder, helped to prevent one of the twins from slipping away. "And this here," Sango announced turning around to introduce her adoptive sister to the baby that was tucked in her back. "Is Hisashi. He's new around, so we are still getting to know him."

"He sleeps all day long!" announced Shippo with a frustrated expression.

"Would you rather he _cries_ all day long like his sisters?" retorted the monk.

Inuyasha visibly shuddered and Kagome chuckled at the thought of the hanyou struggling to tune out the babies and failing.

They headed back to the village, where Kaede gave her sister's reincarnation a warm welcome back. At least as warm as could be expected from her. Rin, on the other hand, was skipping around her, celebrating the return of her "big sis" out loud; blushing when commented she was growing up to be a beautiful young lady, showing Kagome all the new flowers she had planted around Kaede's hut.

Shippo took his turn to tell her all the things he had learnt in the past three years, how he was smashing ranks in the Kitsune Academy, about his new toys, and even a little about how much he had missed her.

She got to know the twins as she taught them a game that included all the children in the village. There were several new ones, to her surprise.

And she felt hopelessly in love with Sango and Miroku's youngest child when she got to carry him and he offered her a toothless sleepy smile. She didn't let go of him for hours after that.

Inuyasha shadowed her moves around and once a minute or so she would turn to him and they would look at each other with a smile and flushed cheeks.

 _I have not forgotten about you_ , she thought every time.

As dusk tainted the skies with orange and pink, both of them found a moment to be alone.

They ended up next to a tree Kagome remembered well. After their battle with Yura Sakasagami she had tried to heal his wounds and he had refused. She _sat_ him down from his spot and they had ended up fighting in that same place.

He scooped her up and landed on the very same branch. She suspected he remembered too.

He rested against the trunk and she lent her body against his. With his arms wrapped around her, they spent a few hours in silence.

Kagome knew little about inu-youkai, but she knew this: they spoke better without words.

Finally, once the skies were only lit by the stars and the dimming light of the waning moon, he announced, "I don't want to take you back."

"Eh?"

"Let's camp out."

"Erm… sure…"

~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~• ~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~• ~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•

He refused to leave her alone, and he hunted with her body tightly held against his back.

Soon there was rabbit meat roasting in a fire they set next to a large tree in the forest. Kagome took a look around and realized they were quite close to the village, but far enough to have _real_ privacy.

As she turned back to ask the hanyou about something, she found him staring at her with intense, golden eyes that flickered in the firelight. She blushed and forgot the question.

"You stayin'?" The inquire came in a low voice, almost fearful, and she started as she faced him again.

After a second, she nodded and her face took a gloomy quality.

He rose to his feet and sat by her side, hugging her again. "I'm sorry 'bout that…"

"Are you sorry I'm… _staying_?" She asked, suddenly disoriented.

Inuyasha shook his head. "I'm sorry the Well's closed and that you can't come and go."

"Oh…" Her temple rested against his shoulder. "I'm sure I'll get used to staying."

Inuyasha wanted to ask if she would regret the decision someday, if she would wish she never came. How could she _not_? He was just a hanyou, and life had made it very damn clear a hanyou was nothing but a half, never enough.

But he was too afraid to make the question. He knew that a 'yes' would kill him and that he would not believe a 'no'.

During those three years he had time to think of the future, and he had decided he would live for five hundred years more if he had to, but still would check on the Well every three days… But now Kagome was back, and there were more important doubts creeping their way into him, all of them kept taking him to the same.

A hanyou is never enough.

 _Fuck_ , he thought to himself, for the thousandth time.

"I love you."

Inuyasha almost jumped when Kagome's voice tore him out of his thoughts. He stared blankly at her.

"How silly, right? I almost keep on waiting to tell you, as if so many years wasn't enough… But you already know, so saying it is so silly…"

Inuyasha could not remember if he had ever been told those words. A part of his brain skimmed through his memories of his mother and Kikyou. Maybe he was being too hard on himself, but really, if he had, he forgot.

Kagome was blushing furiously, and she extricated herself from his embrace. "The meat's ready, which one do you wa…"

Inuyasha's lips on hers achieved silence. She almost jumped back in surprise, but his hands on her waist and shoulder kept her in place. In the same second she opened her mouth to say something, but realized that she had not only forgotten how to breathe, but also how to talk.

God, she had missed him.

When the hanyou's tongue carefully brushed hers she felt a jolt across her body like never before. A heat stirred her muscles and she threw her arms around his neck, making them both fall to the ground, still kissing deeply. Her knees straddled him and his palms caressed her bare legs, leading careful strokes with his claws against her skin.

Her scent revolved around him in delicious ways he never imagined could exist, rousing instincts he didn't even know he had, sending sensations across his body he had never felt.

He sat up straight and looked at her in the eye, suddenly breaking the kiss.

Damn, he knew he desired Kagome, but he never imagined his blood could boil like that.

"What is it?" Asked a self-conscious, blushed and confused miko.

"Me too."

Before she could even answer with a look in her eyes, Inuyasha took charge of the situation again, holding her against the tree trunk and kissing her with instinctual intensity, nipping her lips, taking her scent in deep breaths, exploring her tongue with his own.

When Kagome moaned breathlessly against his mouth he almost lost it. It took every bit of his self-control to not take her as his mate right there and then. But, fuck it, why not?

 _A hanyou is never enough._

The thought felt like a stab. Yeah… that was why. How could he even consider he deserved Kagome?

He rested his forehead against hers and kept his eyes closed, still inhaling her deliciously ripe scent. Then, thinking of nothing, he moved and nuzzled at the right of her neck, fitting next to her shoulder.

To his delight, she reacted even further, leaning against him, shifting in her place, sighing, wanting more.

It was good to know he could do things to her concentration too. He didn't really get why, but, hell, it was there.

Maybe not tonight, but someday he could wrap his mind around the idea that having Kagome as his mate could be a reality.

The smell of burnt meat brought them both back to earth. "Shoosh! Right!" Kagome darted towards the rabbit and pulled it from the fire, burning a little with the hot wood. She blew at the slightly black meat and giggled, causing Inuyasha to smile.

~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~• ~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~• ~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•

After dinner, she realized he _still_ didn't want to take her back to the village, and blushed when she realized he intended for her to sleep cuddling with him against the tree.

She bit her lip as he was making himself comfortable against the bark, but she started when saw him take off his haori. "What are you doin'?"

"Blanket," he replied blandly.

"Oh…" Her face was so red she could see it in the tip of her nose. She found her place against his chest and pillowed her head under his chin. He covered them both with his red robe and closed his eyes.

Kagome found it difficult to sleep to the sound of both their thundering hearts.

~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~• ~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~• ~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•

The next morning, after expertly avoiding gazes and questions, Kagome asked Kaede to provide her with suitable attire for a permanent stay. She could not hide her scowl when the old woman handed her miko garments, as much as she could not keep her gratitude from showing when she realized they were _not_ second hand from her sister.

As soon as Sango saw her folding the cotton fabric, she gave her a sly smile. "Kagome-chan, we are going to take a bath, join us?"

"Erm…" the little girls looked at her with bright, expectant eyes. "Sure?"

After some toddler cheering and organization, Kagome realized two things. For starters she would not have the luxury of shampoo and conditioner anymore, and Sango provided her ancient beauty tips while taking some pity on her. The immediate second thing she found was that, ever since the beginning of his formal training as a kitsune, Shippo was considered 'one of the men', and so he was not allowed either to sleep with Kagome nor bath with the women.

Although saddened in the face of the change that she had missed to witness, she could not hide the pride that swelled her heart.

Once in the lagoon, strategic positions were set to handle the wild girls. Rin was entrusted with taking care of one twin as Sango washed the other, both ready for further and swift exchange of energetic toddlers. In the meanwhile, Kagome's responsibility laid entirely on the newborn, not only commended with his cleanliness, but also that he would not grow cold in the water. The miko took her responsibility tremendously seriously, which bemused her adoptive sisters.

While they splashed in the warm lake under the summer sun, the taijiya didn't seem to bother to hide her scrutinizing eyes on her friend's nude frame. She was eyeing her so badly Kagome gave her a guarded gaze while Hisashi held her finger in his little grasp. "Wh-what are you looking for, Sango-chan?"

"Bite marks," she answered matter-of-factly once she made sure Rin was patting her daughter dry on the shore and out of earshot.

"Eh!?"

"Mh, nothing. How disappointing."

"What are you even talking about!?"

Sango giggled as she soaped her daughter's head. Kagome was a bit mortified that she could not differentiate the twins without their signature clothing. The demon slayer explained further, not once losing the light tone in her voice. "Before inu-youkai mate, they mark their intended female. I'm pretty sure it's more of an instinct than a tradition, so I am guessing Inuyasha would cling to that impulse. Call it… a doggish engagement. They bite their bitch, of course if she lets them, and the scar bears the male's scent, telling everyone she's taken and soon to be mated. After your disappearance last night, I was hoping to find some bruises and teeth scratches on your shoulder, Kagome-chan."

While Rin and Momoko played with the little girl's obi while skipping on the sun-warmed river stones, Kagome's face had manage to go from red to purple, adding the blue undertone when she held her breath, still trapped in Hisashi's hand. After quite the long while, she managed to stutter an answer. "Wh-wh-what gave you that idea?"

Sango shrugged, starting to rinse Nashiko's bangs. "Maybe the fact that Inuyasha was _very_ curious about how humans carried off their marriage… or that he has not moved more than a couple days away from the Well in three years… or that he checked on it, like, _all_ the time."

Kagome gasped. "Did he?"

"We practically had to drag him to get him to eat, and the first while we couldn't even achieve that."

The miko's eyes lowered with guilt. "I knew he would be affected, but… I wished I didn't keep him waiting for so long."

"Mh… I'm actually surprised he hasn't got you all betrothed as soon as you arrived… Actually he's been quite civil about giving you up to be around the others."

"Now that you mention it…"

"Wanna know what I think?" The toddler splashed in waist-tall water between them, while her mother's eyes drifted protectively towards all of her children. "He's scared senseless. If he did not make it clear that he wanted to mate you last night, I'm fearing he never will. I think you should take measures, to let him know that he's _not_ annoying you and that you both want the same thing… Kagome-chan, if you don't make a move yourself, it's like you are politely refusing him… I think he needs to make sure you are not doing with him what you used to do with Kouga-sama."

Kagome wondered what had been of the wolf, but managed to save her questions for later. And although she was still blushing furiously, her friend and her were past the denial part. She mused the situation under her breath, and with as much dignity as she could gather, she cleared her throat and confessed, "There was some… excitement last night."

Sango elbowed her with a chiding but bemused expression while they made their way back to the shore. "Bite marks first, Kagome-chan. Excitement later."

~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~• ~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~• ~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•

Over the day Kagome pondered youkai romantic relationships, human courting traditions and how Inuyasha was placed right between both. Eventually, she sighed hopelessly. She was at loss of a tactical approach on how to even bring up the topic without sending Inuyasha into a panic-induced fled. _I get why it's so hard to communicate with him. I can't go full human on him and he can't go full youkai on me… He's as restrained as I am…_

Finally, she huffed in frustration. She had waited _three years_ to see him again, and she would _not_ allow things to take the awkwardness road.

"If we can't talk in words, we'll talk in instinct."

~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~• ~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~• ~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•

Kagome had grown more determined, courageous and understanding during those years. She had actually grown up, and it showed when she remembered some of her previous actions and embarrassed over how silly she had been.

She was determined to, at least just this once, take over the situation. She would _not_ allow Inuyasha to act as if they were still tiptoeing around the topic of _them._

"Let's go hunting?" she casually inquired.

Immediately Sango noticed she was needed and made an offer too good to be refused. "I'm going to get started on Momoko and Nashiko's first swords, dear." Turning to big eyes that shone in green and brown, she gave a warm smile. "Would you like some swords too, Shippo-chan and Rin-chan? I'll need your help so that they will be _truly_ yours."

Like a spell. It was as if the kids had never even heard that the couple was leaving or even acknowledged their presence at all. They started rambling about what types of powers they required for their very first very _own_ katana.

Miroku's proud eyes followed the taijiya's frame as she managed so much childish energy with swift grace. If she would not have scolded him for it, he would have adored the very dirt her wife's feet touched.

But right now, other matters had to be taken care of. Holding his newborn's sleeping body against his chest, he gave the other two a knowing smile and left murmuring a lullaby.

Kagome was marveled and proud at the same time. She had never imagined the houshi could be set straight in such a way. He was not only in love with the demon slayer; he also respected and admired his wife. The miko smiled knowing that the sentiment was mutual, and since the foundation of their relationship was so adamant, they would do just fine against _anything._

 _No matter what._

A bright red movement in the cornered of her eye brought her back to business.

Although they could still not look at each other without color rising on their cheeks, Inuyasha nodded once and offered his back to Kagome. Soon they faded in the afternoon lighted forest.

After a while, Kagome asked Inuyasha to teach her how to track and different little pieces of advice, following diligently the one that the taijiya had given her before leaving. 'Let him protect you in a new way. Teaching you to take care of yourself will do nice things to his instincts, you'll see'.

And so far, things were going beautifully smooth. If Kagome had known she could get so excited looks and pleased smiles from Inuyasha just by asking how to interpret footprints, she would have done it much sooner.

But still there was _something_ there that kept the hanyou to drawing closer, from showing how much he wanted her as the night before, from even _looking_ at her.

Unacceptable. Measurements had to be taken.

"Let's stop for a while," she coaxed. At his obvious displeasure, she giggled. "We can keep on going later, don't give me that look!"

Claiming a place under a peach tree, Kagome carelessly commented on the fact that the twins names had been given regarding Sango's pregnant carvings, which promptly demanded pear and peach. Inuyasha was still giving her the 'cold' treatment, so she chose a more direct approach, leaning against his shoulder and brushing her cheek against him.

The change, despite little, was definitely there. His ears twitched ever so slightly in nervousness she had learnt to detect, but he remained stoically indifferent… in his own non-indifferent way.

 _Why do you keep fighting me?_

Suddenly a rapid succession of thoughts came to her… What if she _had_ had him waiting for too long? What if he didn't really want her as his mate? What if Sango had misinterpreted his behavior? What if he wanted to break up and last night had just been a sort of goodbye?

Could they even break up? Had they ever _been_ together? Were kisses the same for humans, youkai and hanyou?

She knew Inuyasha better than that, but doubt crept into her heart. She had imagined their reunion a billion times, and it had never been like this… Besides he had said he _loved_ her last night… Well, sorta…

The shift of emotions in Kagome's scent made Inuyasha dizzy as he tried to follow one, failing miserably as it swung into several others. He felt disoriented, and his brows knit together. "What's it?" he inquired, utterly confused for her even-more-unusual behavior. He gestured franticly when he smelled the salty water and heard a sniff. "Oi! What did I do?!"

Kagome moved away from him and hugged her knees, turning her back on a suddenly very confused half-breed.

"If you want out just say it," she suddenly spat. "You don't have to pretend just because we kissed after we took Naraku down."

"Woah, WHAT!?" Kagome flared deadly eyes his way and a shiver shook Inuyasha's frame. "I'm really not following whatever the fuck you're rambling about," he hissed.

"Then _what is it_ with you? Last night you were… different. It's like you picked right up where we ended, and today, it's like when we just met… It's like you hate me."

 _Fuck_ , he thought, for the one thousand and first time.

"I don't hate you, you stupid! I just… I…"

"What? You WHAT?"

He lowered his gaze, completely muted; and she realized she was nagging. She took a deep breath and slowly let it out. "I would just like you to tell me what's wrong… I'd expect after all this time we could at least _talk_ …" She sighed. "It's ok, tho'. If you have second thoughts. Don't feel pressed. I take back all I said." She gave him a bright smile and gathered her bow and quiver to resume the hunting. Just as she was about to rise to her feet, his firm hand held her elbow in place.

"I'm not…" he cursed under his breath, still not meeting her gaze, his face pale and his breath held. "I'm just waiting to see if _you_ get second thoughts."

Kagome stared at him blankly, as if she was not following; then cocked her head to a side as the statement filter in her mind.

Suddenly there was a massive burst of emotions in her scent, and Inuyasha was startled again. Surprise faded into sadness, which disappeared under joy, which led to utter confusion, which made way to a very growing, _very_ menacing fury.

"You… you _IDIOT_!" her tone pierced into his sensitive ears, which flattened against his head for shelter. Then immediately snapped back up as she noticed Kagome was tugging his robes. He forgot everything and held her wrists, trying to formulate a protest, a question, _something_. "STAY STILL," roared the miko with such a wrath in her tone he almost whimpered; then obediently, yet self-consciously, let her do whatever the hell she was doing.

Finally she managed to undress his right shoulder and locked his eyes with hers with a fierce determination, although she was as red-faced as him. Then, out of fucking nowhere, the girl _bit_ him.

It was a fraction of a second, but Inuyasha's mind had never, even in the most drastic battle scenarios, raced faster.

First, he was extremely confused. Then, he was pissed; although that wore off once he admitted it didn't _really_ hurt, even if she was biting hard down into his skin. The immediate next line of thought was stirred when a jolt of something even stronger than the night before shook his whole being. He had _no idea_ of what Kagome had done, but he was _very_ aware of its effect.

Something ancient and intuitive took hold of him and although he could not entirely grasp the meaning behind her actions, but he felt pointed in the right direction.

When she backed away she was blushing furiously, but her determination did not flicker one bit. "There, happy?" She blurted.

Inuyasha's mouth was tightly closed, and his eyes slowly drifted from the red-turning-purple set of bruises on his tanned skin to her reddened face. He was holding his breath and his instincts were on the verge, but he remained still, one ear crooked and one stiff, waiting for an explanation.

She stared from under her bangs, huffed and threw her hands in the air. "I claim you! Now you can stop being such a jerk!"

"You… what?"

Kagome was certain she was the living impersonation of a tomato, but she still managed to fold her arms over her chest and lift her chin proudly. "Sango-chan says inu-youkai mark their fe… ehem, soon-to-be mates as some sort of engagement. So, it's official. I claim you to be my mate soon, and since you _let_ me bit you, it means you agree. There, now you can't keep on blabbing about second thoughts…" She stood up, still aflame, and strode with pride and her head held high in the direction of the village. "Idiot," she muttered as she drew away.

Inuyasha was not sure of what just had happened and understanding slowly filled his mind. His ears twitched and he managed to scramble up behind her, his mouth open, but at a complete, utter, extreme loss of words. So he followed.

Kagome's bright red hakama was impossible to lose sight from, and he walked dumbstruck behind her for several minutes, and came back to earth when he felt something taking over her scent. She was… he could not really place it. It was not regret, yet similar. Not sadness, not fear… When he finally understood the feeling he smirked.

 _Mortified._

She was biting hard on her lower lip, her eyes flickering nervously as she replayed what had happened a little while ago. Did she just _propose_ to Inuyasha…?

She started when she collided against the chest of a scowling hanyou. She offered a forced smile and felt her palms growing sweaty, but she decided she would not avoid the matter. This would be talked through.

As always, not relying in words, Inuyasha chose actions.

In a flash of red and silver she was cradled on his lap, in a branch a little too high for her not to mind. His frown had not gone away as she eyed him.

Kagome froze as she felt Inuyasha sniff her, even longer than usual, as if investigating something new. He carefully nuzzled her hair, neck, shoulders and hands, never losing his scrutinizing expression. After quite the while of sniffing, he declared "You smell like me." Kagome, who had been paying close attention to Inuyasha's exploration, offered a confused 'eh?' before he shrugged and gave the matter little more clarification. "It's barely there but I can feel it, tho' I can't really point where it's coming from."

"Well, you _were_ carrying me earlier," she offered.

The hanyou shook his head. "No, I can't smell myself in you. I said _you_ smell like _me._ And I'm guessing maybe it goes both ways."

"Oh?" she breathed.

"Well, only one way to make sure."

She stood very still when he tugged her collar and she held her breath as his nose inspected her right shoulder over and over again. When his brushing lips turned into tiny, soft kisses, she was pretty sure humans _could_ have a liquid form and melt if given cause. His lips made way to his tongue and the tip slowly grazed her goose-bumping skin, unhurriedly turning into velvety and enticing licks that destroyed her concentration and almost shattered his too with her overwhelming feminine scent all around him. But he withstood the roar that clamored inside of him, and continued lending wet strokes to her niveous skin.

After a while that had Kagome's mind twirling, he murmured against her skin. "Hold still."

His fangs nipped and she bit her own lip as she felt him marking her back, accepting her offer and making one of his own. He would be hers, but she would also be his.

It didn't hurt, it was mostly pressure. Maybe it had to do with the fact that her mind was subjugated to the ocean of emotions that rumbled inside her whenever her, now she could say it, soon-to-be-mate was involved.

Once he liberate his hold, she craned her head to admire her own mark. It was a funny and almost elegant succession of tiny circular bruises, while hers was more like… well, a mark of a clamp. She giggled to the thought that for this once, she was wild and Inuyasha was delicate.

She lost her focus when she found herself kissing his lips with a hunger only her, wow, fiancé could suffice. Several deep kisses and maybe hours later they took a moment to look into each other for a little.

Marked. Betrothed. Engaged. Promised.

Two days into this time were already paying off.

Holding hands they slowly walked towards the village in comfortable silence. Kagome's aura and scent radiated with contempt. He had seen her and _felt_ her happy before, but never this much.

Thinking that _he_ was the source of such emotion made him feel self-satisfied, even if for only a moment.

When the huts came in sight, bathed by sunset golden light, a dark haired monk carrying his baby met them on the road. "I foresaw you would forget that you went on a _hunting_ trip, so I had the audacity to have some vegetables soup waiting for you."

With a genial smile, he offered a way out, approaching the red-faced girl to ask for her assistance holding Hisashi, who greeted her with a yawn that showed tiny pink gums and a tiny pink tongue.

Kagome's heart melt a little, maybe a lot, and she gave a side look to Inuyasha with an expression that clearly, and wordlessly, said "I hope you understand how much I like the little ones and that I expect _many._ "

He snorted, but as she whirled to follow the houshi with the newborn protectively held in her arms, the hanyou's eyes darkened considerably.

~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~• ~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~• ~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•

Life had been nice during the last month. Inuyasha didn't seem to be in a hurry to hurry her and she was savoring every step of the process.

Upon Sango, Miroku, and rarely Shippo's advice, Inuyasha was in the middle of a full-fledged courting process. Occasionally he relayed on his own knowledge, remembering the time when Souta had asked help courting a girl.

He made a mental list of all the things that each counselor, including himself, said were required to definitely get Kagome.

For Sango, it was patience and delicacy.

For Miroku, protectiveness and self-confidence.

For Shippo, sweets and tickles.

As far as he could remember Souta's romantic ordeal, straightforwardness and flowers. And maybe a bowtie.

~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~• ~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~• ~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•

It didn't take long for the miko to notice the little gestures from the hanyou. Rough around the edges as he was, the day that he presented her with a handful of wildflowers she knew this was the epitome of sweetness.

When he realized she was about to cry, he immediately apologized and drew the blend of weeds and blossoms back, but she darted ahead and took it from him, holding it tight against her chest, inhaling deeply although the bouquet only smelled of grass.

She kissed him on the cheek and said they were the most beautiful flowers ever. He blushed and called her stupid for making such a fuss, but ever since that day, he came to her with whatever flower he could encounter. And every time, she favored one in specific to the highlighted location of adorning the spot behind her left ear.

Inuyasha _loved_ that. He would deprive every single piece of vegetation of their flowers if only to see Kagome pull her hair behind her ear and compliment her look with a colorful spot that contrasted with her raven black locks.

And she would not have traded a single one of her flowers for the most precious jewelry in the world.

~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~• ~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~• ~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•

Although she, of course, did not mind it, she did voice her doubts about Inuyasha's increasing attentions to her best friend's husband. Looking for the right words, she mumbled "Is it because of the engagement? Or…?" The houshi tilted his head, beckoning for her to continue, while he diapered his son, still managing to look wise and sagacious while doing something so mundane. "He could not _possibly_ think he _still_ has to conquer me… I don't mind it, of course, but that was pretty much the very _reason_ …" She trailed off, indignant.

Miroku's low chuckle returned her attention to him. "It is not Inuyasha-sama's fault, believe me. It is customary in most youkai species that the choicest females' favor is insistently pursued. Until…"he struggled to find a proper term. "Until the _question_ is _settled_ and the mating is official, the female could reject the suitor and choose any other interested male."

"And what does it take the mating to make it official?" Miroku grinned and her hand snapped up to hold him back. " _Besides_ the obvious."

"Well, in most youkai species that take the marking rite it is necessary for the mated couple to be acknowledged by a superior or bear a pup. Until then, any other suitor can fight literally and figuratively for the female's favor."

"But… the mark! Do they really shrug that off?"

"Think again, Kagome-sama. No creature is foolish enough to take such symbols lightly. It is a way to keep the male's attention on his future mate and not take her for granted, as you would so wisely say." She remembered the many times she had used that phrase to reproach the monk for neglecting Sango. "After all, youkai that mark their intended mates are usually the kind that couples for life. In some species rejection of their denoted one after such choice is made could literally kill them."

Seeing Kagome's big eyes shine, he smiled and offered one last comment, placing his newborn in his protective embrace. "After all, it is a decision bared on one's skin."

~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~• ~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~• ~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•

Cicadas chirred and cool breezes made the last weeks of summer perfect.

Kagome smiled up at Jinenji, who blushed and continued with his lesson. The miko thought it was nice that he had decided to move in with them after his mother's death.

Her eyes drifted lazily across the clouds and she spotted Sesshomaru's form floating slowly towards the children's location. Before landing he remained expectantly silent, almost defying, and more close to her than she could remember she had seen him since her return. Kagome tilted her head trying to figure out what had gotten into him when realization struck and made her giggle.

The last time she had seen him she had the audacity, the indecency, the _nerve_ to call him 'onii-chan'. Although she was not yet officially mated with Inuyasha, it was tempting to address the taiyoukai as her Big Brother. The thought died when he flared golden eyes directly into her and she got the message in her own translation. 'Go ahead; see if you survive your imprudence a second time.'

She gulped and realized that was no way of starting an in-laws relationship, and for peace's sake she decided she would not tease him… yet.

Besides, Jinenji was shivering next to her, and she didn't want to get him even more scared.

Graciously she bowed her head with an elegant smile and murmured "Good morning, Sesshomaru- _sama_."

His nose flared in contempt as he returned the courtesy with a solemn bob, yet, to her surprise, and Jinenji's agony, he strolled her way, yet again providing a gracious salutation before going right into the heart of the matter. "Miko, I understand you are to mate my half-brother," he said in an impersonal tone.

Still, once she grasped his words, an unintentional flare of purification exuded from her slender frame. The taiyoukai, of course, did not even flinch, but did not let the impoliteness go unnoticed. His lids barely narrowed in a warning way, but the girl did not even seem to notice. She was grinning madly, and she smelled of overwhelming joy. He felt momentarily confused, but she was already talking. "Yes, I am. The event shall be celebrated soon. There will be a small human ritual to follow our customs, and we would be most honored if you graced us with your presence."

His façade was made of steel, but inwardly, the taiyoukai felt at lost. From addressing him with unjustifiable informality to being almost lady-like. He quickly came to a conclusion. _The miko is educated but her ways are still carefree. She could behave properly if she just wished to do so._

"I have been informed," she continued in a serene and almost business-like voice, "that your approval is required for the union to be official in the eyes of your kin. I look forward for your permission."

 _Clever. She has politely made it clear that even if I refuse to accept her as my little brother's mate, in the eyes of her people and even Inuyasha himself formalities would be met, and the only ones refusing it would be youkai. Coming from someone who thinks herself in equality, this is courteously upmost insulting._

A gracious, diplomatic nod served as a confirmation, yet his eyes flashed red for a moment too brief to be caught by the human eye and locked with hers in a dangerous way. "After human regulations and customs are met, your union _shall_ be acknowledged."

She did not lower her eyes. Either ignorant of inu-youkai ways or adamant beyond reason, Sesshomaru was bemused. If he could think of one female that fitted his thick-skulled brother, it was this strange miko.

He silently loitered in the delight that it was to know this temperamental human would put his brother's patience through hell during their lifetime together.

Once again, he offered a salutation and took off, leaving behind an ecstatic Kagome and an about-to-faint Jinenji.

~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~• ~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~• ~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•

It was a surprise to find out her soon-to-be brother in law would stay for the night in the village.

It was worrying to see him almost unnoticeably on edge, only for those who knew where to look.

Kaede eyed the tall taiyoukai with carefully measured scrutiny; then simply voiced every adult's question once the children were soundly asleep. "What troubles thee, Sesshomaru-sama?"

"A threat."

Inuyasha's ears stiffed. "Whaddaya mean?"

Sesshomaru's eyes betrayed nothing, but the hanyou understood his half-brother was not overly fan of repeating himself.

While tucking his daughters, Miroku re-approached Inuyasha's inquiry. "Could you tell us what _kind_ of threat you can sense hovering its way onto us?"

The taiyoukai remained unusually quiet for a moment, and then resignedly let out his answer. "A _death_ threat."

Unconsciously, Sango's arms curled around the little boy she was breastfeeding with her back turned to them, but still fully alert. At her feet, Rin's sleeping silhouette tugged closer the fabric of her yukata while her other hand allowed a little thumb to be sucked in the slumber.

"Do you know what causes it?" interjected Kagome, and, to his frustration, Sesshomaru had to answer with an honest negative.

"I can only sense death lingering near. Remain alert." He exited the hut and took guard at its front.

Still, something inside of him susurrated it would be pointless.

~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~• ~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~• ~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•

The next day Sesshomaru could still not shake the feeling something bad was going to happen and that nothing he could do would stop it. He immediately collected Rin and Jaken and ordered them to leave towards the west, to high grounds.

"Oi, bastard," the taiyoukai's lazy eyes did not even flutter in his half-brother's direction. "You _running away?_ "

"I am not bound to explain myself to you."

"No, you don't get it, asshole… I mean… is it _that_ bad?"

Sesshomaru could smell the uneasy shifts in his brother's scent. He almost took pity in the poor creature whose senses were almost as dull as those of the humans he insisted to protect.

"Something terrible is bound to happen. The las time my intuition noted me of such danger, the earth rambled open and portions of the map where swallowed whole. Despite I cannot assure it will be the case once again. However, I can confide the repercussions could be equally dreadful."

Inuyasha nodded, not mentioning Sesshomaru's sudden loosen tongue. "Would you suggest us to evacuate the village?"

Sesshomaru's jaw lifted ever so slightly. Ever since Naraku's demise the hanyou and the taiyoukai had reached a truce and even treated each other with their own rough version of respect. But Inuyasha confiding him with strategy, even seeking advice, was something new.

"This Sesshomaru considers such measurements an exercise in futility. The threat does not linger in the place, but on its people."

"Like a curse?"

"Hnn… Moreover the night of the new moon will be tomorrow. Taking this amount of humans out into the open would be proven foolish."

"Whatever it is, it's got a bad timing."

"Or a very good one," the eldest offered.

Inuyasha nodded and made his way back to the others. It still bothered him that the bastard knew his precious secret, but he had learnt to trust his honor would not allow him to take advantage of such a weakness.

He shook his head and the thought as he arrived next to his packmates. "He thinks the same, it'll be a waste of time and someone's sure to get screwed up."

"So, the best approach is to remain calm and take whatever comes at us in known ground."

Kaede nodded. "Preparations shall be made," she assured.

"Let's get ready, then," Kagome invited. As Inuyasha remained in place, she called back, "you coming?"

The hanyou had been thinking that, if given _some_ courtesy the bastard would set his tongue loose, maybe he could have stayed around and _help_ given he had even acknowledged his counsel. _Ungrateful son of a bitch._

He walked by Kagome with concerned eyes, passing to more important matters.

~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~• ~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~• ~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•

Inuyasha was not sure if he was getting paranoid or if he actually _feel it_ too, even though he was moments away to assume his human form.

As the las ray of sun was swept away from the landscape a soft pulsation initiated the transformation. He confidently strode back to the rest. "It all smelled ok," he granted, resigning to be useless until the sun decided to bring its ass back.

"Ok, runts, Kade-baba and Kagome, to the hut. Miroku, to the village's entrance. Sango, watch from above. There are some patrols. If anyone catches something odd, _call for help_."

They nodded when reminded their spots.

Inuyasha sat on the hut's door, Tessaiga propped against his shoulder, carefully concentrating on his dulled senses.

Before entering, the miko's eyes send a reassuring look towards her best friend, who was mounting the fire cat wearing her taijiya uniform and holding Hiraikotsu firmly in her grasp. Kagome showed a playful scowl. "Two months after giving birth and you already fit in that tight leather bodice. It's not fair for any mother anywhere… for any woman ever!"

Kagome managed her magic and Sango's worried sick eyes showed a tiny spark of pride.

Inside the miko did her best to keep the children occupied from missing their parents or from worrying too much. Shippo's tail twitched frenetically, and that meant he had a bad feeling.

She had long learnt to trust the kit's tale.

As the twins played with her hair and made a mess of it, Kagome carefully eyed the kitsune while holding a sleepy baby in her arms. "Shippo-chan, can you tell what's wrong?"

He gravely shook his head.

"Can you explain what it feels like?" she stared at the boy's ever twisting tail. _Not a good sign_.

"It's… like you are falling. You know you are falling, and you are not hurt yet, but you know the floor is coming and there ain't nothing you can do about it."

He had given her a perfect explanation. Impotence, fury, weariness, helplessness… maybe even fear.

To make things worse, his nose would not stop twitching. _Smells like death, but nothing's dead yet._

"Could we break your 'no cuddling rule' tonight? I think I need it…"

Shippo nodded solemnly to his mother in distress. After she put the three human children to sleep, they secluded themselves in the hut's corner.

The miko eyed her friends' children with protectiveness. Her purifying aura curled in the air of the hut, warning any demon fool enough to enter, but not once letting her power even close enough to hurt Shippo.

On the other hand, the kitsune was having it hard. Every part of his instinct was telling him to be ready for action, but having his mother so close set him considerably at ease.

His childish priorities sparred in his young mind. But as the hour grew late, his lids betrayed him and his eye slowly drifted shut.

Kagome did not allow herself to feel flattered by the kit's utter trust; instead she chose to honor it, remaining alert, her eyes fixing on the human children, the kit and the door; checking on them once in a while, surveying the surroundings for any offensive aura, moving from a corner of the room to another.

But sunshine tinted the sky with light and birds chirped their welcomes to the warmth. With mute gratitude Inuyasha took a sharp breath in the middle of the transformation, take pleasure in how his perceptions grew keener by the moment.

Peace reigned at last.

Kirara strode back to the ground, a trail of fire lingering behind her. Sango stepped down and rejoined her husband and the hanyou, as Kagome exited the hut, with a very awaken kit on her shoulder.

Inuyasha's eyes persisted pinned to the horizon and remained indifferent to Sango's voice. "Seems it's all clear."

"I do not believe it is safe to assume such things, my dearest Sango."

A sudden, brusque movement made all eyes drift to Kagome, or more specifically, Kagome's shoulder.

Inuyasha eyed him gravely. "What's it with the tail, runt?"

"Is it telling you something?" Inquired the miko.

Shippo's bright eyes met directly into Inuyasha. "There's no menace," a new shudder made the fluffy tuft twirl.

A growl rumbled deep within the hanyou's chest. "But there _is_ something wrong…"

Kagome found that her heart was running and she felt it too. _You are falling, you know the floor is coming, and you can do nothing about it._

Cautiously, the miko eyed the group. Something definitely was off.

"But I can't fucking tell what it is…", swore the hanyou under his breath.

Sango was suddenly panting and a soft chiming betrayed the houshi's temper, giving his shudder away.

Her eyes lowered to Kirara and noticed she _knew._ Following her gaze, the taijiya immediately knelt next to the youkai kitten. She had turned into her smaller form so silently she had not even noticed. The feline jump into her arms and started licking her face and hands almost frenetically. "What!? What is it!?"

Suddenly Inuyasha's ears snapped forward and he left out a breathless "No…" He remained frozen, his ears and nose working madly to locate something. "No, please, no, not again…"

Miroku felt he was about to throw up and Kagome could not breathe. The taijiya was the first one to realize Inuyasha's ears were scrutinizing the hut.

Kagome could not see her, partially given the speed with which she had moved, partially because of the immense amount of tears she was shredding knowing and not knowing why.

The miko's eyes followed Miroku's careful and trembling steps towards the place and noticed he was crying too. She gasped and turned to Inuyasha, who looked pained beyond words, and almost holding back his own tears.

"What is it?" Demanded the kit, crying too out of nervousness, his tail brushing his mother's neck.

It was a mere moment, but some sort of whimper came from inside the hut, and Miroku found his strength to move further.

"Mama?" the murmur stabbed at Kagome's side.

"…Mama?" another voice quite similar called, urging more pleading.

Sango firmly left the hut, and the monk's voice came in hushed tones from the inside.

"Now, do you remember what to do if there is any danger…? Very well, I will stay here with you, but you must promise you will not leave the hut until I tell you to do so."

"No…" Kagome finally found her voice seeing the small bundle in her friend's arms. "I checked on him before leaving the hut… He… He…"

With a blank expression, the taijiya's combat experience took hold. She undressed her son's newborn's chest and pressed a focused ear against it. Then slowly she patted the boy, blew softly into his little toothless mouth, turned him around and patted again. Another ear to his skin. Nothing.

Again and again, over and over again.

"He was _fine…_ " the miko muttered, voiceless, holding the kitsune tightly against herself with ice cold fingers.

Brown eyes went their way and Kagome found she could not breathe, think or talk. _Why? Of all people, why them? Why_ _her_ _? Hasn't she suffered enough?_

"I can't hear you, Sango, you need to speak up." Only then the priestess realized her friend was rhythmically mouthing.

"Sesshomaru-sama."

The wind by her side weaved and Kagome realized Inuyasha was gone.

It took her a second to react, but she let Shippo on the ground and took trembling steps towards the demon slayer. She knew a bit about first aids and she had hoped to never need such a valuable knowledge.

She did pretty much the same as her friend, telling herself there was no way she was going to let the newborn die.

No more than twenty minutes later a flash of light towered over their heads and they barely noticed him, although Kagome had to wipe her tears away to see him.

Tenseiga was already unsheathed in his right hand and his golden eyes skimmed the tiny corpse for an eternal second.

Then, a metallic whisper joined the blade while finding its way into the scabbard again.

Sango stood up, with a blank stare; then let out a few words barely above a whisper that Kagome couldn't grasp, but she managed to pull Shippo closer with glacial fingertips.

"It cannot be done. Not through my methods."

"Why…" the inquiry was detached of any tone, as if of polite interest.

"A soul too young that cannot hold onto his wish to live, so small it could be scavenged in a matter of seconds. You did well requesting my assistance, but this Sesshomaru suspects it would have been too late even a moment after his breathing stopped."

The taijiya knelt again, holding the boy's limp body under her chin. "Can you smell what caused his death?"

Sesshomaru's eyes grew darker, and while she was at loss of words or actions, even she realized he regretted Sango and Miroku's loss deeply. "I can," he answered a moment later.

"Would you mind telling me? A decease could still affect other children," she exposed with flawless logic.

"There has been no cause. His heart simply stopped. Perhaps your son's purpose in this world had already been accomplished."

Sesshomaru blinked lazily as he expected the taijiya's next move. Putting a sword to his throat was stupid, for she was now in reach distance from him. Still, he inwardly congratulated her for her bravado.

"My son was _not_ a tool of destiny. His only purpose was to have a happy life, a life at _all_."

There was some warmth behind his golden piercing eyes. "Humans… so fearful of time. A brief life is not equal to an unsatisfactory one. I respect this formidable pup of yours, he has earned his rest after only a matter of months, while other creatures are doomed to roam aimlessly for millennia until they are offered the opportunity to be taken in the harmony of the night."

Inside the hut, Miroku held tightly his twins against his chest.

Outside, Shippo's tail had finally stopped, but his tears had not.

Sango lowered her sword and looked at him with empty eyes. "Did he suffer?"

 _How could it matter?_ The newborn's body was already half cold. Still, he flared his nose and took a deep, scrutinizing breath, then slowly shook his head. "Hardly. He was peacefully dreaming."

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 **A/N: SIDS is not a joke people, I've lost family to that shit. It makes you wonder 'where did I fuck up?'**

Phew, that was a lot of writing for very little time... I hope you dn't find this chapter too messy. In any case I could divide it in two ^^U Review please!


	5. Lost dog

**A/N** : I hope you enjoyed the previous chapter despite it was inhumanly long . Remember to review to let me know your opinions!

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 **Lost Dog**

The air had acquired a sweeter trait and animals would soon wake from hibernation.

Sango caressed Rin's bangs without waking her up. The girl that rested in her lap would soon turn twelve springs, and Kagome insisted she deserved a special gift since she would be a young woman now.

The taijiya couldn't agree more.

Down the hill Shippo was trying to get away from the twins' wooden swords. Although he had felt scammed when Sango explained the children would _not_ be getting real katana yet, he had grown quite fond to his 'bo-chan', and he enjoyed sparring with the girls now and then… mostly when they had not organized an ambush.

Momoko and Nashiko were fast learners and she was proud. They had sneaked behind the kit using the ointment of leaves and mud she had taught them to prepare. The little fox had never smelled it coming.

A movement drew her eyes back to the girl on her lap, who yawned and rubbed her sleepy eyes. "Sorry, Sango-sama, did Rin sleep for too long?"

Shaking her head, Sango let go of the girl, who sat embarrassed by her side. "It's almost time, isn't it?"

"Uh-huh. Sesshomaru-sama will be back with the first flowers."

"You should wear your best kimono to welcome him back." She did not voice the question she actually wanted to ask.

Rin crawled behind the woman and started disentangling her long brown tresses. "You have the prettiest hair, Sango-sama"

"Why do you think that?"

The girl didn't grace her with an answer. Instead she started braiding a small portion in a foreign manner Kagome had taught her. Once she was done, she extracted a dried, battered flower from her sash and used it to decorate Sango's hair.

"Where did you get that, Rin-chan?"

"It's the first spring blossom," the child murmured in a little voice.

Puzzled, the taijiya cocked her head. "Since when do you have it?"

After quite the long while, she breathed a tiny "Two days."

"What's the matter?" She pulled her hair over her shoulder and inspected the little yellow blossom. After some musing, she inquired, "Were you hiding it?" Without raising her eyes, the girl nodded. "Why?"

Rin shrugged and skipped away, down the hill, where she joined the twins that had cornered Shippo, beckoning the taijiya to join them for a new lesson.

Sango sighed. She had gotten used to sighing during the cold months. But she got up, she kept on walking, she went on. Just like she always had.

The children were waiting for her downhill.

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Inuyasha remained still, patting. For the first time in a while he actually _saw_ the poor victim of his relief. It lay at his feet, destroyed every single part of it. Ripped by claws, limbs torn apart, chewed, broken, cracked.

The poor tree never stood a chance.

The wreck of splinters, leaves and branches had not gone unnoticed, same as his rage, and every animal within the mile had fled for its life.

He sat against the trunk of his next potential victim after kicking away the branches. Jaw clenched, nose flaring, arms folded.

It was maybe the third time this week he had destroyed something out of raw frustration. It was getting better; he was almost in control again.

Except he was not.

He kept thinking of Sango.

If the baby had died in the hands of an enemy, an animal, a youkai, he would not be in this position. He could have avenged him, help his friends do it, ask Sesshomaru to revive it and then kill it again.

But there was not even a fever to blame. His little heart had stopped and just like that, he was gone.

And Sango…

Inuyasha roared and his claws tore the bark of the trunk behind him.

 _Fuck_. The look in Sango's eyes.

Miroku had pulled himself up, or at least he was trying to. A piece at a time he had accepted what had happened, his powerlessness, and fate. His sad smile would follow him to the tomb, but he had survived.

Sango… Sango had died.

He had seen her world crumble to ashes, her faith misplaced, her soul and mind on the verge. She had seen Kohaku die _twice_. She had been ready to give up her own life.

Sango _knew_ pain.

And she had cried, she had collapsed, she had screamed, she had wished to die. But she had survived and dug her way to happiness with claws, blood, fangs, and fire. She was a formidable warrior who had defeated her greatest foe. Grief.

But losing Hisashi had killed her, accomplishing what Naraku could not.

Inuyasha was sure the taijiya would have just stopped breathing too if it was not for her daughters. Her son's death had been too much. She was a talking, walking corpse.

Hollow.

When Kagome's soul had been ripped apart from her body by Urasue, moments before it entered Kikyo's clay body, both of them bore the same look in their eyes. A lifeless void, just a breathing body.

Sango had not shed a single tear for her son. She had calmly explained the newborn's death to the twins, had comforted Miroku, had wiped Kohaku's cry, and buried her little boy's remains without ever being even near to tears.

She would smile and laugh, hold her daughters, fly on Kirara, fight, joke, sleep, eat… But she was dead.

There had been a whole life that her son would not live, a whole future that would never be.

Hisashi's life was a part of Sango. With its end, so came hers.

Inuyasha had learnt long ago that it was not necessary to stop breathing to be dead, but the concept that a mother could never survive her child's death was new.

He had hoped so hard for the opposite.

The hanyou felt blood dripping from his palms, where his claws had stung deep.

Tears fell and crossed his cheeks, finding their way into the corners of his mouth, filtering through clenched fangs, letting him taste the salt.

A whole life that would not be lived.

Inuyasha knew what to do. All he needed now was the courage.

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Rin was shaking her head and refused to look up to him. She sniffed hopelessly and her wet eyes were fixed on the ground.

The tall, silver haired youkai in front of her had not said a word. His presence spoke for itself. Surprisingly she had not spoken a single syllable, yet managed to be perfectly clear.

The girl cried until she was breathless. The sweet scent of cherry blossoms filled the air, and for the first time in her life she hated it.

"Very well. I shall return in one year, with the first blossoms."

Rin gasped and reached for him, but he was gone.

Hugging herself, biting her lower lip, she fell to the ground, sobbing, sniffing.

She did not mind her pink kimono getting grass-stained or the chilly wind of the morning; she only felt sick and a knot in her throat.

Suddenly, a voice called her name and she tensed. "Rin-chan! What happened!?"

Sango was holding Nashiko in her arms and ran to sit by her side. The toddler extracted herself from her mother and crawled to the girl, tugging her sleeve. "Nee-chan?"

Soon Miroku trotted to their side, lowering Momoko and placing his warm hand on her skinny shoulder. "Why are you crying? Who did this?" he demanded with protective rage in his tone.

The girl couldn't take it anymore. She launched herself into Sango's chest and wept loudly, breathlessly, disconsolately.

"Rin, I'm begging you, _tell me_!" Sango's eyes were getting wet with powerlessness, and her twins were already crying. Miroku was caressing the elder girl's black hair in calming soft strokes.

Slowly she found she could breathe again, and found a moment to stop sobbing and spoke with a tiny, embarrassed voice.

"Could you… could you please be my mama?"

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That very afternoon Miroku announced they would need a larger home and devote himself to get the task fulfilled as soon as possible, with the help of several willing men of the village.

When Kagome inquired, his answer was so natural her brain took a moment to catch up.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean what I have said," he replied with his chin in his fingers in his chin, his gaze locked in his house, planning a reshuffle.

"But… how? What will Sesshomaru-sama say?"

"Oh, he agreed."

"He… he did?"

For the first time the monk's eyes smiled her way. "Kagome-sama, are you really surprised? We both knew my fate has always been to be surrounded by beautiful females."

The idea finally settled into Kagome's mind and she nodded; then smiled. She sought her best friend with her gaze and found her playing with the twins and her new daughter, who happily giggled while making flowers crowns for her little sisters.

On the miko's shoulder, Shippo cocked his head. "That mean she's gonna live with you?"

"Why, of course. No daughter of mine will reside in a different home until she is grown and married!" After a moment of thought, he amended. " _Very_ grown."

Caressing the kit's bangs, Kagome's eyes locked with the taijiya's. They both smiled and shared a thought.

 _I know how you feel._

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There was no flower that day and Kagome felt hurt. She tracked back her day and the previous to find where she had screwed up to make Inuyasha detour from their routine.

Ever since Hisashi's death he had been different, the same as all of them, but the flowers had been a constant in their daily life.

The exception told her something was wrong. Inuyasha would _never_ forget about their little tradition.

After having dinner she made her way to Kaede's hut, where she temporally resided until the day her future mate and her had their own home.

They had not yet mated. They had not needed to even talk about it to know it was not time to celebrate during such a painful moment in their best friends' lives. She was not in a hurry and neither was Inuyasha. They had their whole lives ahead of them.

On Kaede's front door he was sitting, same as always, Tessaiga against his shoulder, his eyes closed.

Before she could enter to wait for him inside to take his usual corner, he rose and his eyes pierced her.

He had never looked at her that way.

"Come," he called without waiting for an answer, slowly walking towards the forest.

She followed with fear. His steps slowed to allow her to catch up, and he immediately took her hand in his.

She knew that should be a good sign, but Inuyasha's eyes had made clear he was not happy.

Unhurriedly they arrived to the Sacred Tree, its leaves moving in the moonlight.

"Why are we here?" She asked, her bad feeling only growing.

He did not answer, but his hand tightened around her fingers.

The wind blew and the forest whispered. Kagome was too scared to ask again.

Finally, maybe a moment later, maybe an eternity, he took a step away from her, letting her go. His golden eyes locked with hers, not showing a trace of emotion.

"I'm leaving. You're free to mate whoever else you want."

She heard him but refused to listen. She stood in silence with a knot in her stomach that only grew.

"Don't joke like that…" She whispered after a long while, without blinking, suddenly feeling very cold.

"Kagome, I mean it. I'm leaving."

She softly shook her head. "Why are you saying that?"

"I am. I have to."

She took a tiny step closer but he backed up, and the sting of realization drew tears to her eyes.

 _He's serious_.

"Inuyasha…"

 _Why? You_ _promised_. _You…_

She couldn't even talk. He lowered his head and shadow didn't allow her to see his eyes anymore.

He turned and started walking away.

 _No… Please, no… Don't leave… I'll do anything… Please stay… Don't go away… Please…_

"No! No, no!" She hesitated, feeling sick, trembling. "O… Oswa…"

She couldn't even say it. She knew sitting him would do nothing. Stopping him from walking would not stop him from leaving.

But miraculously he stood still, not turning back to see her.

"You didn't do anything wrong… If I don't leave I'll hurt you…" His voice was firm and unyielding, and Kagome blinked, making the tears fall. She took another step closer, but felt she could not move anymore.

 _I don't care if you hurt me, I would forgive you._

"You should've stayed in your time."

The words cut deep within her heart, and before she could breathe he had leapt away from her, disappearing into the dark forest.

Kagome leaned against the Goshinboku, where she had met him. The cold wind stung on her silent, ever flowing tears.

Inuyasha had left her.

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 **A/N** : I did warn you I like cliffhangers (when I'm not the reader). This story just began, people. If everything goes acording to plan this is just the beginning...

Try not to kill me until I finish writing ^^U I'd hate it if you missed the final plotwist :3

Review! If you liked it, if you hated it, if you didn't understand something, if you are planning to murder me... every thought couts! :D


	6. Bem-vindos

**A/N:** I think I can't stand cliffhangers anymore than you do, I had to keep on writing XD Last chapter had an unhealthy amount of crying, so this one is a bit more sobered up, although it's mostly about character introductions, I hope you don't mind it ^^

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 **Bem-vindos**

"WHAT!?"

The back wheels of the car cried, clinging desperately to de pavement, and in a quick motion, Yuukimaru managed to stabilize the vehicle, barely dodging a front coming truck that honked aggressively.

The three humans' eyes were burning with questions, but neither of them had gotten past the same word, nor noticed the almost-crash they were participants in.

"Well, yeah, my ol' man broke it off, but it was for a good reason!"

Stuttering, a rage-flushed Mrs. Higurashi found her voice. "How dare him! After all Kagome did! If I ever see him again he _will_ listen to me."

A nervous laugh escaped her grandson's throat as his ears twitched under his cap. "Well, thing's he…" His sentence trailed off as took an exit. "Oi! There it is!"

His clawed finger pointed a green hill, where a wooden structure was barely visible between the foliage.

"That's where your brother lives?" The hanyou nodded. "It's… big…"

"That's because there's like twenty people living there!"

Giving some details about life in his brother's home, Yuukimaru drove up the hill and parked in front of a rustic, large house that actually seemed completely uninhabited.

As they all exited the vehicle, Souta voiced his doubts. "Is anybody home?"

"It's a _kitsune_ house, little genius, do you think humans could see it if they didn't allow it?"

Just then the air quivered as it does when heat rises. A sudden, terrible roar shook the trees. "TRISTÃO, VENHA PRA CÁ _JÁ_."

"Wh-what was that!?" Souta cowered behind his nephew, who shook his head with a smirk.

Mama Higurashi managed to slap her father-in-law's hand before he extracted some sutras from his sleeve.

A copper flash shoot from one of the windows in the upper story and darted its way toward the forest. The hanyou crouched and dashed to catch it in his hands.

The humans curiously peeped to see Yuukimaru tightly holding a redheaded toddler, who was biting down to set himself free, his tiny bushy red and white tail whipping.

A steady punch made the kid whimper and give the hanyou an indignant look with hardly contained tears. "Keep your ass still, runt! You made your mom mad!"

The boy had copper hair and ocher eyes. His skin was a bit more than tanned, and under his bright green pants, he had tiny furry reddish paws.

Mrs. Higurashi squeaked in delight and stole the kit from her grandson's grip, squeezing him in a bone-cracking embrace. "Aren't you the prettiest little thing _ever_?"

Just then, a dark skinned woman walked determinately towards them. She folded her arms over her ample chest and drummed her long clawed fingers against her arm. One dark brow lifted and the boy in the arms of his great-grandmother whimpered.

With a deep, unshakeable voice she dangerously spoke. "Banheira. _Agora._ "

As the foreigner scrutinized the mournful kit walk back inside, the humans had a moment to examine her.

She had orange-copper eyes, thick eyebrows, a broad snub nose, and full lips. She was almost as tall as the hanyou, sturdy and strong. Her black tight curls flowed dense all the way down to her hips, where an abundant copper tail with a white tip started, flowing all the way down to the floor behind her very long legs.

An exotic, rustic, brawny beauty. Mrs. Higurashi already liked her.

Once her narrowed gaze made sure the boy had entered the house, she relaxed and offered a bright smile to the hanyou. "Tristão's still not having any of 'em baths, eh?"

She cocked her head at the humans. "Is this our family?" She inquired in fluid Japanese, yet an accent neither of them could determine lingered in her voice.

When he offered an affirmation, she immediately threw her arms around the three of them, firmly but delicately constricting them in a familial hug.

"That's grandma, gramps and Little Uncle Souta," the hybrid explained. "This here is Brother's mate. Her name is _Nelinha_."

The human trio struggled to grasp the pronunciation, so she offered an easy way out. "You can call me Nelee." All of a sudden she smacked Yuukimaru in the back of the head with maybe a little too much strength. "Why are you wearing that? I don't want the kids picking up bad words!"

The hanyou scowled and kneaded the injured area, glaring down at his 'BITE ME' shirt. "Yeah, yeah, I'll change it later."

As if nothing had happened, swiftly she slipped between them and locked her arm with Mrs. Higurashi's. "So you are my grandma-in-law, _né_? I never met Kagome-mama, but Shippo says she could make one killer sakuramochi! Will you teach me?"

The woman giggled, delighted "Of course, it's a family secret!"

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The house was huge, but not a mansion. Wide dark beams held it. It was spacious and luminous, but clearly not human-made.

For starters, there were patches of grass, bushes, vines, and flowers growing from the tatami, climbing the legs of the tables or as pieces of furniture. Gramps could not hold back his burst of laughter when he realized a little tree was clearly a rack. Souta tried to deduce the function of many pieces of vegetation, but soon got distracted when he realized some of the beams were _actual trees_.

A cup of tea carelessly placed on a side table here had a little red fish swimming in circles inside. A half open cupboard there revealed to be filled with nothing but acorns. Ceiling lamps were actually glimmering daffodils…

On top of it all, a black haired girl with two copper tails, no taller than Souta, came their way to say hello. "This is Chiharu, our eldest. These are Papa's family: grandma, gramps and Uncle Souta. They are our pack too."

The green eyed youkai showed a broad smile towards the human boy, wrinkling her freckled nose just a bit. "Hi! Do you like playing ball?"

The boy nodded and his demonic descendant took his hand in her grasp and pulled him past a large door, followed by adults. They made their way into an interior courtyard that shone in the sunlight.

It would have been monstrous if it wasn't so beautiful, but in the middle of the small ocean of grass an impossibly gigantic magnolia tree casted its shadow across the meadow. Between its roots a majestic golden and copper kitsune rested next to a cream and black gigantic cat, five and two tails respectively weaving slowly, enjoying the sunlight that filtered through the colossal tree's foliage.

The humans were in awe, but even the grandfather wasn't scared. When they walked closer to the horse-sized youkai, they noticed the cat was licking clean the protesting toddler they had seen first, and that the fox had a tiny cub, black and copper, curled and sleeping between his fox paws.

Souta walked in amazement and dug his fingers in the shimmering fur of the green eyed kitsune, whose gaze contemplated them almost solemnly.

The elegant creature's snout pointed at the dark skinned woman, who, in a single movement enveloped in blue flames, transformed in a slim strong creature, tall and imposing, black, copper, and white, not quite a fox nor a wolf. But even more surprising was the fact that actual _grass_ covered her back starting right at the base of her skull, all the way to the beginning of her tail. Some little white flowers stood out from the miniature meadow, and thin vines moved with her.

She nuzzled the cub, and its tiny nose sniffed back. Slowly and with its eyes closed, it rose and taking little steps descended from the fox's paws and made its way to Nelee's belly, where it delighted himself with maternal milk.

Seeing his cub safe, the reddish kitsune cautioned the human boy and soon turned into a copper haired young man after greenish fire surrounded him. Sagacious green eyes meet each of the mortals and his five tails twirled with anxiety and cheerfulness. His smile showed off pointy fangs, and when he waved his hand, claws sparkled in the sunlight. "Hi!" he let out with a nervous voice.

"Shippo-chan?" Asked incredulously the woman as she eyed the tall man in front of her.

"In the flesh!" He let out an awkward smile and scratched his nape. "Make yourselves at home!"

But the three of them were staring with scrutinizing eyes, focused on every inch of him. They tried to adapt the image of the tiny kitsune who adored sweets and games and connect it with the handsome freckled father of three clad in blue and green.

"Really? You are so… adult…" Souta caught a tail and inspected it thoroughly. Gramps was pulling his pointy ear to see it closer, and Mama Higurashi was focused in his face.

"He's almost six hundred years old, what ya expected?" Voiced the hanyou.

Well, it was almost as if they had known him. Kagome talked about him nonstop and Mrs. Higurashi was familiar with exactly what kind of candy he liked, what his favorite toy was, and what games he enjoyed the most. They did not only have to accept the fact that he was an official part of their families, but also that he had changed.

"Oh, right!" For a moment she felt silly, but she still pulled a large red lollipop from inside her purse and gave it to the kitsune. "Kagome said you loved these!"

Shippo blinked and Yuukimaru burst into laughter, but the fox youkai accepted the gift with a grin and immediately introduced it whole in his mouth. "Zheez ade the bedzt! Dhank you!" he exclaimed joyously and slurping to keep saliva from falling.

The ice breaker worked flawlessly, when the redhead gave her a grateful hug, they squeezed each other protectively and felt what bonded them both: Kagome.

In his ear, the woman let out a teary whisper. "You have grown so much…"

Gramps patted his shoulder and Souta smiled closer. "Not fair, I want too!" Interrupting, Chiharu raised her arms and started skipping in front of her father, soon joined by her younger brother, who blabbed something that sounded similar to 'give, give!'

He surrendered the lollipop resignedly to his elder children and urged them to share 'or else'. "This is Kirara, I'm sure you guessed," he explained after a moment. The neko-youkai purred and transformed into a cream colored kitten that leaped on the old man's shoulder, rubbing her head against his cheek. "Hey, she likes you!"

He walked to his mate and took the little cub that was done with his meal in his hands. The kit sniffed with its pink nose, but could not yet look around. Shippo's hands were cupped, but the little thing was so small it would have fitted in just one of them. "This is the new cub, he's not got a name yet, we need to know what he's like first."

With a single delicate finger, Souta petted his nephew's youngest son's furry forehead. He _meep_ ed and his teeny tail twitched with curiosity. "He's so _small_ and you two are huge!"

"When was he born?"

"Three days ago, he still can't even open his eyes, see?" he leaned closer to allow his uncle a better sight of the newborn.

"Three days!" Gasped Mama Higurashi to Nelinha. "But you look so fresh!"

Nelee was back in her humanoid form and she cocked her body with a hand in her waist and a slightly self-satisfied smile. "Brazilian hips are sturdy, we can handle bringing pups."

"Can I hold him?" inquired Souta.

"Sure thing, but be very careful," encouraged the Latina.

"Or else she's gonna kick your ass."

Nelee eyed the hanyou, who grinned.

Shippo beckoned the group, and slowly they made their way back into the house. A spacious living room with a sliding glass door welcomed them. The grass of the courtyard spilled green inside the area as a carpet. The humans sat on different pieces of wooden furniture, being offered tea by the Brazilian youkai.

Yuukimaru solemnly made his way to a wooden wall mount that shone with elegance in the far end of the place. Above it a magnificent traditional Japanese painting hung, depicting a celestial white dog prowling over the clouds above a battlefield, bearing a bluish moon on its forehead.

The hanyou reached for his swords from his hips, presented them to the magnificent canine with a formal nod and muttered something under his breath. Then he placed both katana in their due places.

Tessaiga.

Tenseiga.

Leadership.

Guardianship.

Four of the five racks carried elegant, invaluable blades that pulsated gently celebrating their reunion. The empty one was on top of the rest, just under the painting.

The half-breed's eyes did not leave the canvas when he heard Souta lean closer, carrying the sleepy cub in his hands. "What _is_ that?" Inquired the boy, captivated by the ancient image.

"That's my Father."

"That's _Inuyasha_?"

"What? No!"

Shippo immediately caught Mrs. Higurashi's mood shifting into hostility, confusion and then into stunned surprise, and realization struck him at the same time a playful sentiment of betrayal. In two steps he was by his younger brother, smacking him like his mate had earlier. "You told 'em! And you even managed to forget the most important part!"

"Oi, you…! Oh, crap! I forgot!"

The kitsune groaned in frustration. "You're the one that wanted to tell 'em and you keep screwing up! You're _such_ an idiot, baby brother…"

"Yeah, yeah… Look, kid, I didn't mention it, but I'm _not_ Inuyasha's son."

"Wha-what do you mean?" breathed Kagome's mother.

"It's true, he isn't," confirmed the redheaded demon, a bemused smirk on his face.

Struggling for words, the half-breed's ears flattened. "Well… Not _exactly._ "

~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~• ~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~• ~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•

 **A/N:** In case you hadn't realized...


	7. Rose red, ebony black, snow white

**A/N:** As you might have guessed...

* * *

 **Rose red, ebony black, snow white**

He was a simple creature.

Confident of strength he had arduously earned. Conscious of his every whim and thought, and their causes. Cognizant of his flaws, however few they may be.

If someone had ever dared to ask, he might have answered that the reason behind his ways was very simple one: he was self-confident.

His faith in himself, as with every other single being he had ever encountered, had been merited. Many centuries had passed until he determined it was time to listen to no judgement but his own, and he had yet to regret such decision.

Prudently and farsightedly he had delimited every single one of his responsibilities. He was well aware of the repercussions of his actions and _never_ made a decision until he had fully examined each probable outcome.

Disdaining luxury, honoring his name, knowing of his expectations, detached of conjecture, meticulous.

Opposed to what many still believed, he was not after servitude. He had made himself clear to his mother: the only he was interested in mastering was himself. His goal was to protect what was his and achieve power such he could impose over any other he knew amiss.

With that as his maxim he prowled over the snow in the verge of his domains under the moonlight, reminding every creature, youkai or human, with his single presence that the fact that they inhabited his lands did not mean they were landlords of his terrain.

Called by the gentle pull of power he was inspecting the western edge of his grounds. Like a beacon, the air tingled with energy on such direction. He would reconnoiter.

The night sky glimmered magnificent, and even without his superior eyesight the landscape would have still been bright as the day, for the stars and full moon's radiance reflected on the winter white scenery.

Soon his sensitive nose caught the coppery scent of blood. Without rush he made his way, following the obvious path of a battle. Arrows, spears, a dead horse, human corpses, a cliff, a trail persecutors had not bothered to follow.

By the time he reached the frozen lake he was very much aware of what he would find. Hovering on the red speckled snow he located her quickly, lowering himself to be before her.

She lay against a black, leafless tree, her snow dotted hair framing her and fading her frame into the bark; bow in hand and empty quiver, in a pool of her own blood, a gaping wound in her lower abdomen, redness pouring over her equally crimson hakama. A swollen and probably broken ankle was the least to worry about. Her face was flushed and snowflakes rested on her lashes, like frozen tears, indicating the silent taiyoukai she had not opened her eyes in quite a while. From her pink, parted lips a faint cloud of fog emanated, confirming what his smell and hearing had already stated, that she was still breathing.

Suddenly her eyes fluttered open and she gave him an exhausted glance. Her mouth formed a soft, peaceful smile, and he understood her wordless declaration. 'A known face will make my death more bearable.'

Impassive, his golden eyes conceded that he would remain by her side until life finally escaped her, and she seemed to demand nothing but his presence. A witness of her demise.

She sighed and leaned against the frozen bark, exhaling vapor with a peaceful expression. Her eyes drifted in the direction of the ice covered lagoon, delighted in the natural mirror that reflected the stars.

The forest fell silent.

Sesshomaru's eyes snapped down when he felt it, a firm but tender pulsation from the Fang of the Heavens, announcing its will contradicted his own.

The only counsel he would hear but his own.

If it wished to revive the miko it would have called after her soul left her body, but why now? Why bother reclaiming the return of a life not yet ended?

 _Does it wish me to save her instead of resuscitate her?_

Another gentle beat indicated he was correct.

The inu-youkai took a deep, slow breath. When the exhalation came there was no fog in front of his face.

He knelt before her and quietly gathered her frail body on his arms, letting her bloody head rest on silk and fur on his right flank.

"Miko," his deep, low voice made her cling to consciousness. "Do you wish to survive?"

She could not speak, her chest felt weak and heavy, but she managed to nod against his shoulder.

"Then remain awake."

A voice inside her told her he would not do more than this to keep her conscious, the rest depended on her. Her brown eyes focused on the texture and warmth of the pelt against her face, feeling the silky texture and its lightness. Then she eyed the red pattern on his other arm. The way he cradled her carefully not to harm her with the spikes of his armor, his height, the shade of white of his clothing. Soon she concentrated on his face, failing to remember if she had ever been this close to him. She dedicated every bit of her attention to his factions, his nose, his eyes, his jaw, then his markings, each and every one of the dashes of color in his face. She wondered what they meant, but she lost grasp of the thought as she faded into insentience.

His golden gaze lowered to his brother's intended mate. "Miko." When she didn't answer he squeezed her arm in his right hand, trying to extract a response. Failing, he hurried his steps. She would not survive the hour outside; there was no time to take her to a healer. Finding refuge was imperative.

He would never curse upon a burden he had taken himself… but he almost did.

~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~• ~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~• ~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•

Kagome's lashes fluttered open and the world around her slowly started making sense. Orange flickered on stone and fire crackled echoing away. Memories being hunted tensed her muscles, but something heavy pinned her down.

She could barely breathe, feeling airheaded and on the verge of unconsciousness again. A sharp pain roamed a line from her abdomen to her foot and she gritted her teeth as she felt a new wave stung with every heartbeat.

She did not know if she was safe, where she was or how long had it been, but she was aware of two things: she was alive and had something important to remember.

Slender fingers held her right hand and turned her palm up. She would have started if she had the strength, but all she could do was tremble with ache.

A warmth encircled her captive hand, meticulous and exact, and when her fingers flexed reflexively she felt the brush of lips through the numbness.

And she remembered. "Sess…" she ran out of air without pronouncing half the name.

Still, he could smell her uneasiness. "Your fingers have suffered frostnip and you have lost nearly too much blood."

Gathering all of her energy in a single syllable she whispered, "Why?"

He was a practical creature. He had been requested to salvage her from her miserable state and he had obeyed, for Tenseiga's wished had never led him astray. There was no sentimentality, loyalty or honor upon her salvation, only compliance.

For the last time he examined the improvised bandages that held her blood in her body and her broken ankle in place. _The rest is up to her_. His eyes lazily set on her face. "Someone had to," he stated. "You specified you wished to live. It is this Sesshomaru's suggestion that you save your breath and focus on healing to fulfill such task."

 _And we will both be soon on our way._

* * *

 **A/N:** So I'm gonna be going down _that_ road... I hope you don't mind! Review pls :3


	8. Den

**A/N:** Mh, weird, I don't really have anything to say at the beginning of this chapter...

The other day I had cereals, yogurt, and banana for breakfast... It had been _years_ since the last time I had a healthy meal... I feel too healty...

* * *

 **Den**

It took a moment, but Kagome realized she had gone blind.

With a gasp she brought her hand to her face, ignoring the piercing pain in her abdomen.

Not even the contour of her fingers in front of her confirmed her worst fears. Tears slipped past her cheeks and she fought to scramble to her feet, but was defeated by gravity soon and resigned herself to sit, sweating and shaking in pain, one hand covering her lifeless eyes and one on her aching stomach.

Her racing heart felt weak in her chest, and she could only breathe her words. "I can't… see… Are… you still th-there?"

"I am."

She covered her eyes when a flame burst to life a few steps away. Now truly blinded by light she tried to scrutinize her surroundings. "Where… are we?"

"You are safe."

Blinking she realized she was in some sort of cave, although it looked strangely artificial, like a rough tunnel. The taiyoukai was now sitting against the rocky wall, one of his hands resting on his upraised knee. Blood covered his right shoulder, darkening the white pelt and part of his armor.

She launched herself forward and he started, catching the wrist of the hand she had extended towards him. "You are… hurt…" she breathed.

The miko suddenly curled on herself, her free hand on the skin under the bandages that protested, taking deep inhalations and shivering with cold wetness on her brow.

She would have hit the floor, but she was received by warm white fur that quilted her fall.

The long trail moved as she trembled in pain and he kneeled slowly by her side. He didn't need to touch her again to know the fever had returned, but he still pressed a hand on her forehead to keep her from getting up once more. "Foolish miko. This blood belongs to no one but yourself. Remain still or your wounds will bleed again."

"M-my blood?" she let out a sigh and yielded, letting her head rest on the warm fur.

She was unconscious again and the taiyoukai stared in perplexity. Had this moribund human truly made him her only worry when she thought he had been harmed? Had it been the certainty he was indeed fine that had settled her down?

He stared down at the hand he had held her wrist and her forehead with. A tingle crept across his palm, slowly spreading all the way up to his shoulder. Her purification powers reacted every time a youkai got near to her, but the taiyoukai was surprised the feeling that was supposedly like the pierce of needles actually was rather pleasing.

 _Strange_.

* * *

The next day she had woken, still weak but firmly conscious. Her constant chattering had been mostly ignored, but a few facts managed to escape his indifference. He learnt Rin was well, growing and happy, that her ever growing family was expecting a brand-new member around spring, that the kitsune kept on climbing up the ranks of the academy, and that Jinenji had made friends with every kid in the village.

Not a word about his half-brother told him more than any explanation. The topic was tacitly barred forbidden until further mention on her part.

But right now, more mundane and urgent matters were pressing.

"I can assure you, human," he started in a dangerously calmed tone, "that I am not only _familiar_ with female nudeness but with your own as well." The little blood in Kagome's body made all its way to her face as she blushed outraged, too dumbstruck to articulate an answer. So, he continued. "How would you guess the bandages that must be replaced got there in the first place?"

"I… I-I…You…"

"Moreover I can guarantee your forms hold nothing special. You are as any other wench, and your bare skin will _certainly_ not elicit arousal in any youkai with a scrap of dignity."

The insult _s_ were enough to snap her out of it. "EXCUSE ME?" she roared.

"Would you rather me lying and saying I found you alluring?"

"Huh?" she shook her head fiercely. "I'd like you not saying anything _at all_! I can change my own bandages, thank you for the offer but no thank you for the offer!"

It was amazing she could look so distressed over simply exhibiting her belly. Could it be that, in her time, the simple exposure of a female's abdomen was found enticing? Maybe a youkai could see the appealing of uncovered flesh, but as nothing more than the promise of what was yet to come. There was certainly not much sensuality about it.

His smirk was the only hint that he had heard her. He extended the linen with a look in his eyes that clearly said 'Please do take care of yourself, being your warden is excruciating'.

Before he whirled he caught the shimmer on Kagome's pink tongue that was stuck out at him.

Groans, whimpers, hisses, muttered curses, and several minutes later, she breathed "I'm done… see? I told you I could do it!"

She was tucking the upper piece of her clothing, and for a scarce moment a pale trail of scars could be seen under the white fabric.

He gave her a solemn nod. Then he strolled over to a few paper packages and got them into her hand-reach zone. A large ceramic container with water rested under a stalagmite's constant dripping percussion a few feet away, and there was enough wood to keep the fire alive for two more days.

"I can see your health has improved. These resources should be enough for you to endure the rest of your recovery."

He tilted his head and whirled to make his exit. "Wh-what!? No, wait! You can't leave me alone!"

He patiently turned and gave her a bland look.

"I still need your help! I can't walk and I don't even know where I am! Why would you save me if you'd let me die in a cave later? What's wrong with you!"

Rudeness deserved rudeness.

"The scars on your shoulder," he commented with an air of indifference, "It is the half-breed's mark, am I correct?"

She paled, and then heatedly clenched her fist. "I don't see how that's any of your business!"

"The mark my half-brother bestowed upon you has taken effect, Even if the mating was not consumed his power protects you. You will soon be healed. The village lies northeast."

She bit her lip. "The mating… how… how did you know that?"

A silver eyebrow rose mockingly. "If you were still under the bastard's care you would not have been left to die alone in the snow. His corpse would have been close to be found, or you would have asked about him already. If he had died during the past season you would have already informed me."

Tears shimmered but didn't fall. She said nothing and he proceeded. "It is only logical to assume Inuyasha did not go through with his word and you are so far from the others only to find him and force him to stay true to his oath."

Slowly she shook her head and the droplets slid down her cheeks. "You're wrong… I'm not gonna force him to do _anything_ … He left me for good, I know… but I just need to understand _why_."

"What difference would it make? He will not mate you; your quest is futile."

"You don't get it, I… I have to know…" She whipped away the tears with the heel of her hand, biting her lip. "You have to help me find him, _please_ … I can't do it without you, I can't even feel him anymore…"

He gave her a disgusted glare "On what basis you determine it is this Sesshomaru's responsibility to assist you in such a senseless pursuit? I swore to save you three days past. Your health is well and my duty fulfilled. I will not allow you to twist my whim of sparing your life into a debt of any other kind."

Sobbing pitifully, she shook her head again. "You _have_ to… If the mark took hold that means we are almost like family, doesn't it make us packmates? I'm desperate, there's no one else to ask…"

From deep within his chest a growl warned Kagome she had crossed a line, but when she stubbornly kept her eyes locked with his, he let out a frustrated sigh.

After a lengthy second, he obliged. "So be it. I will assist you only because you will end up bringing death upon yourself if you remain unaccompanied."

"Y-you will?"

"Hnn. I am bound by honor to keep you alive. In that intend, I shall join this useless quest of yours until the new moon."

"But that's less than two weeks! Even with that nose of yours…"

"This Sesshomaru vows to do what is in his power to satisfy your whim. But given the case he would not explain himself, the daybreak after the new moon you are to return to your village."

"B… but!"

He leaned dangerously close, fangs bared and pupils slit. " _Swear it._ "

She gulped. "I guess that's the best I can get… And if you can't find him? Do I get more time?"

His snarl showed his opinion on the ridiculous statement. "If such improbability were to occur, you will _still_ return to the others. If your safety is to be my burden, then it shall not be jeopardized by your caprices."

The conditions were settled and she had no choice. A voice in her mind told her having Sesshomaru's protection wasn't the same as having Inuyasha's, and much of her freedom would be lost in the process.

But she was desperate.

"Fine… It's a deal." Her extended palm to him earned her nothing but a raised brow, a disgusted look, and his back walking away from her. "W-wait! Where are you going!"

Silence. Solitude.

Shivering she cuddled near the fire. Cool air winded the cavern permanently, and she wondered how, but the halo of light from the bonfire didn't allow her to see much of her surroundings and the humid cave had her teeth chattering.

She fetched a blanket and armed herself with an improvised torch.

"Stupid, stupid Sesshomaru."

* * *

Limping, she skipped her way leaning on the wall, following his path.

The carcass of the fawn fell on the snow, tainting it with bubbling red. The horrified herd fled, and silence reigned again.

With a gracious leap and carrying his pray, he entered the tunnel that had been the lair of a colossal youkai until he cleared it a few days ago. He sighed as soon as he sniffed the miko's scent moving from the campsite. Was this wench really so determined to harden his oath of protecting her life?

With slow, steady steps, he followed her trail, and almost immediately found her leaning against a stone column, awed and breathless.

Her improvised torch lay in the water, and she glimmered under green-blue radiance, like starlight. All around her was speckled by sparkling spots of cyan. The roof of the cavern resembled the polar skies, waves of light dancing across a starry heaven as the radiance was reflected by a fluorescent pond that seemed bottomless.

An impatient rumble notified her of his presence, but she didn't even turn to see him. "This… this is the most beautiful thing I ever… Where _are_ we?"

"I killed the creature that inhabited this burrow. There was no other place to take refuge in the vicinity."

"Uh-huh."

"It was a carnivorous vermin. The tunnels were its doing."

"Mh."

He almost rolled his eyes. "These are its larvae."

He sighed and walked back to the fire, with a stuttering miko adamantly pinned around his head mumbling something about meat-eating maggots and pulling fur, silk, and hair.

These would be two _very_ long weeks.

* * *

 **A/N** : Sorry it took me so long to publish this one! ^^U I was deep down in school responsibilities! It all went smooth, luckily :D

I'm not overly fan of romance stories, so this is decidely gonna be quick, so we can move onto more important things like death, despair, and heartache (L)

Hope you enjoy it!


	9. Unworthy

**A/N:** I'm back!

* * *

 **Unworthy**

"It's been _months_ , maybe there's just nothing to smell anymore…"

Once again she was not graced with an answer.

The colossal muzzle inspected the ground taking deep inhalations that destabilized her. Sitting between the roots of the Goshinboku she drew a frowny face with a stick in the pristine white snow. "You could at least answer me once in a while… Unless you really can't talk when you are a dog?" Her long black hair was all over her face suddenly and she struggled to get it back in place, barely keeping herself from falling from her place. "Careful with the sniffing! Ugh, you've got such a short temper!"

A gigantic red eye glared down at her before resuming into ignorance. Snuffling, smelling, huffing, roaring, the majestic hound finally let his nose point at the skies and howled.

Kagome ran by his front paw and pulled white fur anxiously. "You found him!? Let's go!"

The beast growled showing a set of monstrous fangs. With a blaze of power a tall pale man emerged. "I am _not_ to be your mount."

In his true form he was taller than the Sacred Tree, but Kagome didn't find him any less intimidating as a towering humanoid. The girl softly kicked a root of the Goshinboku as a pout made its way into her lips. "I was just curious, besides it would be a lot faster if you let me ride you!"

"You have had enough of that already."

"You mean with the bugs thing? You'll never let go of that!"

Disregarded again. He strolled patiently taking the way of the north, away of the village.

"Are we leaving already? I'd like to say goodbye to the guys before we go…"

Silence.

"I know I wanted to go a second ago, but… No, I mean…" She bit her lip. She still fell too ashamed to face Sango for too long after all that sobbing before deciding to find her ex-fiancé and beat some answers out of him. "What I mean is… don't you want to say bye to Rin? I know I'd like to give Shippo one last hug."

"Rin is with her kin and under the care of two competent warriors."

'Competent' was a huge compliment coming from the taiyoukai and she smiled on behalf of her friends.

"Yeah, totally… but I meant, she'll miss you and all, even if she decided to stay, you are still her knight in shining armor…"

After a few hopeful moments Kagome sighed. There he was, all mute again.

Time dragged as they marched north. The morning sun was not enough to keep Kagome warm, who could feel the chilly air under her brand new miko garments and thick cotton coat.

Since the few days of the cave she had started pondering her new miraculous healing capacities and wondered what else could Inuyasha's mark have done to her.

 _Asides from breaking my heart._

Dammit! She had to avoid thinking of him more than it was necessary. She needed something else to focus on, _anything…_

Teeth chattering, she started babbling.

The weather, the area, the village, the children, the weather again… And everything received the same treatment from the Heir to the Western Lands: silence.

She wanted to be quiet too, she really did, but ever since Sesshomaru decided to help her she was in too much of a shifting mood, at least in comparison to the depressive humor ever since Inuyasha left. Besides the silence became unbearable after a couple of hours. Calling a halt was almost impossible and she would lose her mind soon if she didn't fill the air with chatter or found any occupation at all…The taiyoukai was boring as hell.

She collided with his back and bumped her nose against his armor. She was about to protest when a narrowed golden eye glaring at her over his shoulders made her realize she had been thinking out loud.

She paled, then blushed, mumbled an apology that was far from heartfelt, and was once again ignored.

A sigh. "Well, if you at least tried I wouldn't find you boring… I would guess you didn't care what I thought of you, but that was a very nasty look you gave me there… Maybe you could tell me stuff about you…"

Nothing.

"Ok, maybe I could try _guessing_ stuff about you. I'll make a guess and you can just say yes or no, sounds good?"

Such a shock: nothing again.

"Ok, what about this… you can ask me stuff too. I'll make a question and you answer, then you have the right to ask me stuff. If one of us decides not to answer the other gets a second question…"

The sound of the wind.

"Sure, you might say, 'I don't need to know anything of this pathetic, disgusting, ugly, noisy human… but hey, I'm from the future, so maybe there would be a thing of two you'd like to know of the next five hundred years or so."

"…"

"Really!? Foreknowledge of wars, massive extinctions, inventions, nuclear disasters, investment opportunities, stock market crash… you don't care about any of that? Are you crazy?"

"Such insignificant affaires make no difference to the course of history. Human existence is but a stain in time and so is its influence. Simply pathetic."

"Oh, you stiff, third person talker, awful, full of yourself…" she huffed and crossed her arms mumbling. "I hope you get a little cozy cottage in Chernobyl…"

And time passed. Kagome was desperate to have something to think about aside from a certain hanyou and how he had suddenly left her.

She managed to keep up with the taiyoukai's strolling by stepping into the footprints he left behind in the snow. A mechanical action that managed to keep her mind at least a tiny bit busy.

By noon she was tired and hungry, so she demanded a break. The youkai was accustomed to traveling with feeble creatures so he knew better than to complain or to comment. He resigned himself to waiting, leaning against a tree.

"Umh… I can't hunt, especially not in the snow, and I wouldn't like to eat all the dry meat if it's not absolutely necessary… You don't smell anything I could have around here, do you?"

 _So vexing._ "Prepare a fire. I shall find you nourishment."

"You are a dear!" His snarl warned her off. "It's just a saying! Jeez! I'll get to it!"

Before she could turn to try and locate a few dry branches he was gone. _So cranky._

Finding proper wood could be troublesome and tiring, so she really hoped he wouldn't turn up too soon.

She set hands to work and soon found herself getting some bark off a dead-standing pine to make a base.

Boring, boring, boring like most of the time she spent away from the village

" _I don't want a lot for mh mhh, there is just one thing I need_ " she started mumbling the foreign song that had been all over the radio a few years back. She kinda liked it, even if she didn't quite know the lyrics.

Besides, gathering wood would be much less boring with some background music.

" _Don't care about the presents underneath the Christmas tree!_ " She hummed a bit the next part, moving her head.

" _I just want ya for my own more than you could ever know! Make my wish come trueeee, all I want for Christmas is youuuu…"_

Finding dead-standing trees was easy, the hard part was breaking the thick logs using other trees as a leaver.

Pushing hard she suddenly slipped and fell on her back on the snow. She giggled and made an angel, but soon relented. If a certain stiff taiyoukai caught her like that the humiliation would be too much.

Getting up she stretched herself to grasp some promising branches. " _Mh mhh much this Christmas, I won't even wish for snow_ , something, something _mistletoe_. _Mh mhh for my own more than you could ever know, make my wish come trueeeee, all I want for Christmas is youuuu!"_

"Miko."

"AH!" She whirled. "Sheez, Sesshomaru!" she pressed a hand against her chest. "Don't sneak up on me like that!" A lifted brow. She soon noticed the carcass of a rabbit lying at her feet. "Oh, hey, thanks… I'm guessing you won't eat with me, right?"

The white brow in place reminded her of the utter ridiculousness she had said. "Yeah, yeah, ok."

Her black hair was covered in white and the outer layer of her clothing was damped. Soon, as she settled the tinder nest and started angling the light with the lens she had given Sango years ago, she felt cold and a shiver made its way through her body.

Smoke and soon fire. Kagome quickly angled closer to it and rubbed her upper arms thoroughly, but the chill refused to go away.

She gasped when a thick cascade of silver fur enveloped her. Sesshomaru was standing at her back, looking in the distance as if the gesture was no big deal. She smiled brightly in appreciation.

If she got sick she would be on her feet soon, so even if he was doing nothing but saving himself from her complaints it was just a nice detail.

Soon the rabbit was cleaned and its meat roasting. Kagome found a moment to relax.

At times she really thought she could make friends with Sesshomaru.

"Miko." She started and tried to recall if she had been thinking out loud again. "The canticle you were professing, what is its meaning?"

"The… the what?" Not fond of repeating himself, he waited until she figured it out. "Waitaminute, you mean the Christmas song?"

"I am not aware of the proper terminology."

She would have burst into laughter if she hadn't been so shocked the taiyoukai was actually _talking_ to her. "It's… it's just a silly song to celebrate umh…"

"I am well informed of the celebration of the Christian deities and the feast of the Saturnalia. My interest resides in the _way_ of the words."

"You mean… English?" A bland look her way. "Oh, you do! It's a western language, nothing more."

"You will share whatever knowledge you have of this tongue."

Kagome was dumbstruck. "You did _not_ just ask me to teach you English."

"You are correct, miko, this Sesshomaru did not ask such thing…" she blinked. "He _demanded it._ "

"But I almost failed English! And I don't know squat about teaching! And I really can't picture you as the academic type to be so eager to learn a language! Besides you…!"

"Providing instance and translation will suffice. I would not expect proper instruction."

She remained frozen in place, the gears of her mind desperately trying to catch up. Suddenly it was like a bulb had materialized in her head and the light sparkled to life. "So…"

He gave her a warning glare.

"Does that mean you'll call me _sensei_?"

* * *

"Utter ridiculousness."

"No, it really goes like that! I'm sure!"

"I do not doubt your translating abilities, miko."

"Ok, I really didn't need the sarcasm part."

It had been almost a week since they had started tracking down Inuyasha and Kagome was nearly out of English knowledge to provide. Song lyrics were her best source of material, but she struggled from time to time to translate. Besides, thinking in a foreign tongue was extremely exhausting.

The taiyoukai had made it clear his wish to learn the dialect was merely fueled by the fact that every human-language was derived from an ancient and lost youkai speech that held great power. When Kagome protested he merely shook his head almost pitifully. And she had gotten mad.

But a truce was reached and the would-be lessons resumed. She would sing/recite a song and provide translation a verse at the time. Much progress was lost when she needed to start from the top because she forgot where she was at, but Sesshomaru had somehow managed to tolerate her floundering.

"So, what is it?"

"You have stated there is no reason for you to pay attention to or even know of these musical compositions, excepting recreation."

"Uh-huh."

"Yet why would you memorize a canticle that speaks of virtue and flaws that you are not holder of?"

"… Ah?"

"You speak of it as if you could relate to its words in any way, but you cannot."

"Wait, I'm not following…" His eyebrow lifted minutely. "Please, really, explain?"

"You are most certainly _not_ a goddess and you are not only standing, but also walking. You are not a figure of relief for this Sesshomaru and not a tease in any way. Vexing, yes, but not yet unbearable. Your ineptness forces embarrassment to the surface. Far from sanctification but equally from malice. You have not produced offspring and whatever relatives you might have were left behind in your time. A fool's nose could be deceived by my brother's mark, but I can easily tell you are still undefiled. But overall you are definitely _not_ a _bitch_."

Kagome was hardly containing her laughter but a giggle managed to escape despite her restrictions. "It's just a song, you know… I would've guessed metaphors had been invented by now… I'm guessing you are too practical for that… Thanks for the anti-insult of 'not being a bitch', by the way."

She had never seen that eyebrow so far up. It was more of a 'have you lost your mind?' than a confused expression. "I fail to see how pointing your species could _not_ be an insult."

"Oh, right, you're a dog, so for you a bitch means a girl… I mean, a demoness."

"Hnn." _These endless offenses_.

"Ok, so now you're all cranky 'cause I called myself one of your kind?"

"Ridiculous. You might call yourself whatever you want, it will not alter your nature."

"…Which is?"

His golden eyes swept quickly over her and came back to her face with a distant spark of disgust. "A lowly human female."

"Ugh, stop that already! Rin's a _lowly human female_ too and you didn't seem to mind her that much!"

"Rin is a child, and as such her ways are tolerable. Unlike others I would never see anything but her infantile nature."

She took a second to process it. "And you find that disgusting, demons seeing human women as, well, women."

"Hnn."

"You know, you stiff idiot, if you didn't like your brother's decision about his girlfriend you should have _said_ something. It would've been fun to see him put you in your place."

He glanced over his shoulder and gave her a bland look. "On the contrary, this Sesshomaru could come to praise the hanyou's judgment regarding his mate."

For a moment, just a moment she thought that was a compliment. "You… you just said he was _right_ to leave me?"

"I did. In fact I fail to see how he got himself so far before regretting his regard."

She froze in place.

"You… you… you asshole!" her voice was pitched and tears ran thick down her cheeks. "How could you say something like that!?"

"I speak nothing but the truth."

"I can't believe you! You are _horrible_! I… I…"

Her dull nails were biting down in her palms, and she whirled furious, retracing her steps.

"Miko, where do you think you are going?"

"AWAY FROM YOU!" A strong hand closed around her wrist and she struggled to pull herself free. "Let me go!"

"You forced me to join this pathetic quest of yours and Tenseiga bound me to your safety. You are _not_ to wander alone."

"Get away from me! You're hurting me!"

"More than ever I am certain the half-breed made the right choice."

He saw it coming before she even thought of it. Her other hand was captured before it could impact his face in a fury-driven slap.

As her desperate cry accelerated her breath a wave of purification started emerging from her interior. The niveous skin of the miko burned under his touch, and his snarl caused for her to only react stronger.

"You will cease this foolishness immediately."

She pulled and kicked and struggled, finally lifting her eyes to his. "LEAVE ME ALONE! I HATE YOU!"

Suddenly he pulled her closer, white fangs flashing as a warning, a spike of his armor pressing threateningly against her shoulder. "You are faithless. Undeserving of a mere hybrid's devotion."

Her eyes widened in shock and she stopped fighting. "I _never_ betrayed Inuyasha! Are you crazy!?"

"Yet here you are, tracking him down, demanding from him when he has given up what he treasured the most for your lowly self."

"I…!"

"Do not dishonor me with pathetic excuses, miko. My half-brother was a fool in choosing a female who could not trust blindly in him as he did in her. His sacrifice has not been enough, you now demand him to humiliate himself with reasons. He would have preferred death over being without his precious miko, but knowing a worse fate was imminent is not enough for you."

She paled, frozen tears pouring from her eyes.

He released her.

"Unworthy. Selfish. Faithless."

She leaned against his chest, but stopped crying.

"You're right…" she whispered after a few moments.

The afternoon sky was clear.

"I don't wanna find him anymore… Take me home."

* * *

 **A/N:** Phew! This was one hard chapter! I really don't want this to be a romance story so I'm trying to be over this part as quickly as possible, but I can't make a romance bloom out of nowhere XD I hope you don't hate it too much ^^

Finding an original common ground for Kagome and Sesshomaru wasn't easy, and took time specially since I've read a lot of SessKag fics and didn't want to copy any of them. On the other hand I also started (and am about to finish) a MASSIVE drawing called Family Portrait depicting every single character in Kagome's family by the end of the story. I don't know if I should post it, it might be spoiler-ish XD

 **You tell me**.

The songs Kagome sang are All I Want For Christmas Is You, by Mariah Carey; and B.I.T.C.H., by Meredith Brooks.

Also! I posted a little **InuKag One-Shot**. You can check it out in my profile. It's called **Chapter One**.

Review plz!


	10. Filial responsibility

**Filial responsibility**

He was _hella_ weird.

In hindsight she really doubted Sesshomaru had finally spoken his mind because he didn't like her song. Something else had to trigger his sudden outburst, but for the life of her, Kagome couldn't figure what it had been.

She was glad, though, that he had told her what he thought. She hadn't seen things that way and maybe she had dodged the bullet of insulting and hurting Inuyasha if they found him. And he wasn't holding it against her.

She was thankful. And he had officially been declared a friend.

Of course it wasn't mutual, but Kagome was used to one-sided feelings, and was ok with it. Someday, maybe, he would see her as a friend too.

Maybe, just maybe, he already did… In his own hella weird way.

She could grasp the patterns of the taiyokai's actions, had managed to understand that ever since the defeat of Naraku he didn't speak until he had to and kept nothing if he decided you were worthy of his voice.

And he cared. For whatever reason it was, he cared so much.

About his honor, about his pack, about his responsibilities. Kagome knew better than to interpret his coldness, his harsh words, his months-long disappearances as 'not caring'.

She knew he cared because he was never late and he hadn't left them alone.

Ah-Un had been left to look after Rin, Jaken too after she had been adopted by her friends, but ever since their return to the village, she realized the little imp had been entrusted with her care, too.

After the day they were back she had asked when she would see him again. He didn't answer, and she rephrased. "Would you please be back in a month?"

"Why?"

"So I can check up on you… I know it sounds ridiculous, but you are my family, too, and how am I supposed to be a responsible pack member if I can't make sure you are ok?"

He didn't respond, but he did show up. And, again, she was thankful.

With every waning moon he would come to the village, and she would receive him as family, make her questions, and sing her English lessons. By sunset of the next day he would be gone.

Three months like that. Until the routine changed.

She had her own house, which she shared with Shippo, since Jinenji lived with Kaede now. It would have been where she'd had started a family with Inuyasha, but now, with the kitsune gone to his academic responsibilities for a few weeks, she felt lonely.

He must have noticed her pitiful mood, because he accepted her invitation to dinner.

"Sango's baby's gonna be born soon, she's almost nine months now." She carefully poured the expensive sake that had been her payment for her services for a neighboring castle.

"Hnn." He received the sakazuki with slender clawed fingers of two hands and lifted it to his lips with one.

"Would you stay?" His eyes darted to hers but betrayed nothing. "In case something happens."

With a delicate motion, he emptied his cup.

She received it again and filled it. "I'm being selfish, aren't I? I'm making it sound like I'd only want to use you for Tenseiga…"

When she offered the porcelain his hand stopped her. "Drink."

"M-me? Why?"

"Respect."

"Oh… Sorry."

Sesshomaru blinked lazily as he watched her down her cup, make a face, start coughing, and fighting back bad words no lady should ever say.

She wiped away tears and sniffed. "How can you _like_ this!? Goodness, it was _horrible_!" His eyes remained locked with hers, and she let out cough and then a giggle. "If I didn't know you I'd say you are trying so hard not to laugh at me."

"Hnn."

"Please don't ever ask me to drink that again."

"It is traditional we share equal amount of cups."

"I-is it? Well, that's one for one."

"Usually they are five."

"Well… we need new traditions anyway… You can have my share."

He sighed the way he did when she had said something really dumb, and she giggled again, angling the tokkuri to pour the crystal clear brewage.

"It's not like I'd ask you to stay just because of Tenseiga," she resumed. "Ever since Hisashi… Well, it would make me feel better to have you around. Nothing would _dare_ to go wrong with you here."

Her infantile trust could be tiring, but still felt honoring. The liquid went down his throat, but he still said nothing.

"You can't get drunk, can you?" A risen eyebrow. "Right, none of my business. More?"

"Hnn."

* * *

The morning broke gloriously through clouds and mountains covered in scarce snow patches. His golden eyes swept lazily over the village and their mundane activities from his place up on a tree.

Sometimes he wondered how on earth he had gotten tied down to such a commonplace.

The roar of a familiar youki across the sky answered him. _Far from ordinary_.

Cat and slayer made their way to their family's hut, waving to a colossal hanyou and a smiling priestess that tended to their crops of medicinal herbs.

With a protective hand over her huge belly, a radiating Sango received her brother.

The boy leaned and kissed her swollen tummy, murmuring his salutations to his unborn nibling. "I'm glad I didn't miss it, little buddy!"

Once inside, Miroku offered his brother-in-law a cup of steaming tea to fight the chill of the winter air. Kirara made her way to rest between the three sleeping daughters of the couple.

"Rin doesn't suck her thumb anymore," the taijiya noticed.

"I think she just needed her mom," Sango's hand caressed her eldest's bangs.

"I saw Sesshomaru-sama outside the village, I thought he wasn't coming back until spring."

"Sesshomaru-sama has encountered… _unexpected_ and more demanding responsibilities," explained the monk.

"Really? What's with that?"

"He's claimed Kagome-chan and is taking care of her," said Sango as if it was nothing. With a finger tapping her chin, she added, "Actually, I would guess she claimed him."

Kohaku almost spitted his tea. "R-really? Woah, that… really _is_ unexpected."

"Kagome-sama is like his little sister now, and she has requested to see him at least once a month. He visits for her sake."

"That's weird, but I guess it makes sense… but how did _that_ happen?"

"Kagome-chan says he saved her life, but mostly avoids the topic."

"I see, and what does Sesshomaru-sama says?"

"Of course, my dearest young brother," retorted the houshi, "we have not dared to ask him."

* * *

When night arrived and Sesshomaru remained, Kagome was overjoyed and Sango was curious. When she asked, her friend had simply responded with a "He's just doing me a favor," and shrugged further questions off.

Her interest was piqued, and if her adoptive sister wouldn't give her answers, maybe the taiyoukai would let out one or two.

On Kirara's back, followed by two naughty twin toddlers that chased the demon's tails and joined on the cat by her eldest daughter, she inspected the village's limits until she encountered her prey. "Sesshomaru-sama! Over here!" Turning to Rin, she smiled. "Why don't you and your sisters go say hi?"

Nodding brightly, the three girls went jogging, but where the oldest stood still and respectful, the younger started running around him and playing with his fur as if it too was a tail to chase.

With a hand on his former ward's head, he inquired solemnly, "Rin, are you well?"

"Rin's happier than _ever_! Will Sesshomaru-sama stay here forever now?"

Before he could answer, the nekomata landed by his side and the taijiya chided her younger children. "It's unusual to see you around past sunset; would you join us for dinner?" Rin's expectant eyes were too much to refuse, so he nodded. "Girls, go tell your father Sesshomaru-sama is coming. I'll catch up."

With hoorays, they retraced their steps back to their home, leaving two youkai and a demon slayer behind.

"So…" she started as soon as the girls were out of earshot. "Kagome-chan asked you to stay for a while?"

"She has requested my presence until the day of the birth."

"So she did… She's grown pretty attached to you lately; she says you saved her life…"

"Hnn."

"Could you please tell me what happened?"

"It is not my place to divulge that she quiets."

"Of course, but… I know it _must_ have been bad… She's been acting weird… That's a wound that isn't closing without some help… She is like a sister to me, and I want nothing but to support her… And I know her, so I can guess what happened, but I keep imagining the worst. Please, permit this, calm my fears and help me help her."

His gelid golden eyes encountered hers, and Kirara's low growl warned him off. He always looked at her like that, and she knew what it meant. Without words, he spoke of how Rin had almost lost her life so she could save her brother; that it might have been forgiven by the girl, but not by him.

That look said he knew the darkest part of her, and that he expected nothing but her most virtuous self.

"Soldiers," he finally conceded, and Sango felt cold sweat in the back of her neck.

After a moment, she found her voice. "How many?"

"Eleven."

She swallowed dryly. "Did they touch her?"

"They did."

A deep breath. "Did they rape her?"

"She did not permit it."

She let out a sigh and almost cried in relief. But her brown eyes steeled, and her fist closed tightly. "Is any of them out there?"

The little miko had managed to defend herself. Wounded, desperate, by foot, she had taken two down. The remaining nine and any that would dare to cross him had been chased down by the taiyoukai and slowly been deprived of their disgusting lives right before Kagome was ready to travel again. Poison and acid could be unhurried.

Lifting his chin, his eyes darkened with pleasure. "She has been avenged."

She smiled and Kirara rubbed her colossal head against his hand, purring. "Thank you."

He solemnly nodded, and she whirled to leave. "Woman," his voice stopped her in her tracks. "Taking human lives, does it burden her?"

With a thoughtful smirk, the taijiya shook her head. "Kagome knows monsters, and when to kill one."

* * *

Even the twins' birth had been simple, and although this time had not been the exception, Kagome soon realized she was too nervous to be of any help, so she had been cast outside with the men.

 _How embarrassing, even Rin is helping!_

She started when an enormous clawed hand gently opened in front of her. She blinked at the purple cylindrical flowers.

"Lavander. To make you less nervous."

She smiled at him warmly and took the little bouquet. Jinenji was the gentlest person she had met, and was always paying attention to the needs of the others. "Thank you, you're so sweet."

With flushed cheeks, he nodded and slowly walked away, with the twins playing on his shoulders.

Once in the fields the hanyou took upon the monumental task of instructing the toddlers to pull out weeds without destroying the good plants. It wasn't really going smooth, but someone had to keep them entertained while their parents were busy.

"Half-breed."

The grave voice at his back made him turn slowly, shivering, but he still managed to grab the girls and hide them behind his massive frame.

Sesshomaru was looking at him with ice cold eyes, a completely blank expression as he examined his misshapen features.

Finally, he spoke. "The miko is my responsibility now. You shall consult me before tending to her."

The hanyou felt he was about to cry, but managed to nod.

Both the taiyoukai's chin and eyebrow lifted ever so slightly. "If you intend to claim her you will have to earn the right."

His lips trembled. "I won't."

 _Dull creature._

"If it is not your goal to formally claim her, keep your distance."

The hybrid's eyes got filled with threatening tears, but managed to hold on.

Walking past his side, he spoke before leaving. "You have done well."

Jinenji sniffed, watching the Lord leave and the girls playing at his feet.

He really didn't understand what had just happened.

* * *

 **A/N:** This is me right now:

*writes 7 pages of fanfic in one hour*

*writes one page of university essay during the entire night*

::sigh:: really, I also need to regularize my sleeping patterns _

So we are in big brother-little sister stage right now, I think they could just work like that, too bad in the story they already have a son xD


	11. Silk and linen

**Silk and linen**

He hadn't left.

Kagome was pretty sure it was because she hadn't asked him to, so he would remain until she released him from this tiring aspect of his duty that was keeping her paranoia and anxiety at bay.

She would soon enough. Yeah, she totally would…

' _This Sesshomaru does as he pleases and requires neither for your permission nor your agreement to depart_.'

She could hear it as clearly as if he had actually said it. Maybe telling him he could go already would be insulting.

It would probably be wiser if she just let him do whatever he wanted. After all, that's what he always did anyway…

But as Sango's newborn turned two months old her suspicions on his reasons to stay resurged. And she felt guilty.

 _Am I keeping him captive?_

But how could she tell him he was welcomed to leave without sounding insulting? The answer was simple; she had to demonstrate she didn't need him to babysit her.

He always roamed close, and ever since the first invitation he had been with her during the little while between dinner and bedtime. She would eat at one of her friends' houses and then return to her empty hut for the night.

And the taiyoukai would be there, guarding the door. She would invite him in, offer a cup of that sake she suspected truly was one fine piece of heaven, would chit chat for a few minutes about her day, ask one or two questions, and he would nod his farewell for the day so she could go to sleep.

She was grateful about that too. The cold wooden room seemed enormous without Shippo there; and having someone to, in his own way, wait for her and wish her goodnight, was nicer to a whole new level.

It made the hut feel more like a home than a just a place to spend the night.

And it made Sesshomaru feel like… _family_.

She pondered these things as his eyebrow lifted and his upper lip was hidden behind the porcelain edge.

The beverage was hideous, as anything human-made. But he could not decline such a protocolled offer without dishonoring his clumsy hostess. He couldn't wait to see the day she would be all out of sake.

"I won't be around for a few days, by the way. I'm leaving the day after tomorrow… A nearby landlord wants me to go and bless his new bride. It's gonna take three, maybe four days."

"Hnn."

"You can keep the sake if you want, I won't drink it anyway. It'd be a shame it went to waste."

Sesshomaru suppressed a shudder. Resigning to accept the gift he realized was not the same as having to consume it.

"So…" She began anew, trying to word her thoughts. "I'm so glad Miroku-sama will be staying, he's so responsible now… I know they'll be ok."

"Hnn…"

She sighed. Maybe he had already gotten the hint. So after she yawned for the first time and he saw his cue to exit.

As she combed through her hair with her fingers she pondered that maybe she had just given him the idea that she _knew_ they would be safe now that she theoretically had Sesshomaru imprisoned in the village. _Jeez, why is it so hard to talk to him…_

With her dark eyes fixed on the roof beams and she exhaled noisily. She did a lot of that lately: wondering how to say things without hurting people, and sighing.

Before sleep claimed her she wondered if she was actually avoiding telling the taiyoukai upfront he was free to go. _Kaede-sama and Sango-chan know I'm lonely without Shippo here, so they've been nice enough to let me keep them company for dinner… but still…_

Shifting in her bedding she stared at the wooden wall with drowsy eyes. "Without Sesshomaru-sama hanging out here, this just feels like a haunted house… Haunted by people that aren't even in it…"

* * *

Kagome pulled, groaning, clenching her teeth, then huffed and panted. Passing the back of her hand over her sweaty forehead she tried again, tugging hard, her knuckles white, her cheeks red.

Finally, the particularly persistent stem of the knotweed surrendered and she fell back, being caught just in time by a large, clawed hand.

She smiled up at him brightly. "Thanks!"

He settled her back on the ground and nodded, color creeping up his cheeks. With his farming tool on his shoulder he went back to his plants.

Either saving her from bugs or for advice, having Jinenji around was always a good thing.

* * *

"The hanyou's actions contradict his intentions."

That sounded more of a warning than an inquiry, and Kagome cocked her head while she fetched the set to pour him the accustomed cup of liquor. "What do you mean?"

"He is very fond of you."

Guardedly, she nodded. "Yeah…"

"Yet he will not formally claim you."

"What do you mean?" He knew she knew, and waited. "Jinenji only sees me as… as a friend."

Sesshomaru's eyes conceded nothing. "You are free to choose a new intended, and his regard for you is obvious."

She bit her lip and refused to answer. Pouring the transparent liquid, she offered the cup with both hands. When receiving it, his intense orbs demanded a response.

Her eyes lowered and he was almost pleased she was behaving with proper submission.

"I guess… he knows I only see him as a brother?"

"Is that so?" he casually asked with the rim of porcelain in his lips.

"Yeah."

* * *

He hardly cared, but his curiosity was piqued when her scent lingered in the verge of the village for an hour without coming any closer.

She had been gone five days, more than expected, and surely was eager to return.

He wondered what could keep her away from those overly-enthusiastic greetings Rin and her family would give, and so, considering the lack of blood in the air, he assumed she could have just twisted an ankle.

He sighed, defeated in front of the idea of rescuing her _._

 _Again_ , he thought with a repressed growl of frustration.

His nose guided him to the Well he knew used to be a portal between her era and this time. A powerful but latent energy danced in the air, as usual.

This time he did growl. _Could she truly have fallen over the rim?_ The bitter aroma of pain lingered in the air and, not hearing a sound, he reached a conclusion. _She must be unconscious… yet again._

With a swift leap he landed in a crouch on cool earth and was received by a surprised and very awake little miko.

"S-Sesshomaru-sama! What are you doing here?"

His brow furrowed slightly. The sudden formality was inexplicable, but her behavior had him almost cocking his head with curiousness.

She had her knees hugged to her chest, hidden in a corner in the shady depth. And even if she was now staring at him with wide eyes, the dark circles under them told him the rest of it.

With a delicate sniff he found the lingering scent of salt lingering in her. She had wept, but not now. Probably the day before.

"You came looking for me?"

She wasn't dignified with an answer. In his own glacial way Sesshomaru was mortified that his grand rescue had been not only unnecessary, but inappropriate.

"That's so sweet, thank you…" His golden gaze sharpened and she offered a tender smile. "I didn't mean to worry you, I just…" her fingers caressed the dark earth. "It's been almost a year… I was just feeling a bit homesick, I guess…"

She stood, but instead of making an attempt to leave the dark deepness she leaned against the side exactly opposite to where he was.

"I wonder if you get what I mean… Inuyasha said I should have stayed with my family, but I still would have come here… For Shippo… Mama, Gramps, Souta, they have each other… Shippo only has me…"

She tentatively peeped up at him from under her bangs expecting to see an impatient look or a bored expression, instead she found him blank-faced. _Figures_ …

"I know it must have been a good reason," she murmured suddenly. "But I can't help it… every morning when I wake up there's just this second when I feel like it was all a dream… That Inuyasha maybe never existed and that I'm in my era… Like it was a nightmare… Could things really end like this? It really feels like it's a joke…"

Her head leaned back against the smooth planks. "So much fighting… so much waiting… all for nothing… Something stands in the way and this time we can't work it through…" Her eyes finally shone with tears. "We were at last defeated…"

He remained still and impassive, not batting an eye when she crumpled in the corner again and her sorrow ran freely.

"I'm sorry… I'm so sorry, this is humiliating…"

She started when he growled. _She thinks this shames me?_

"This only degrades you."

"I'm sorry because… Because you are stuck here with me and have to deal with my whining…" She sighed. "You made yourself clear; you think I don't deserve Inuyasha's love… I think you were right…"

"This Sesshomaru _never_ alleged such thing."

"Right… you said his trust and devotion… For me it's the same, sorry…"

 _What does she keep apologizing about…_ "Completely different notions."

"Mh… For us… For _me_ there can't be love without trust and devotion…"

"Nonsense."

"It's true… respect, trust, caring, understanding, um… liking…" she blushed just a bit. "You can't have love without all those things, and maybe I'm forgetting a few."

"You do not know what is required for what you profess so much knowledge of?"

"No one can understand love," she said with a tone that was too close to dreamy for her liking.

"Nonsense."

She scolded, offended "I guess you don't understand a lot of stuff about humans… Maybe as much as I don't understand about youkai…" She showed a little smile. "Can I be a little impertinent?"

His gaze betrayed his thought. _Are you capable of 'just a little' impertinence?_ And she giggled as a pair of fresh tears traveled down her cheeks. Her white sleeves cleared them away. "Have you ever cried?"

"No."

"Really? Not even as a baby? Even you must have been a child once…"

"Not even in my earliest youth." He conveniently avoided mentioning the fact that, by the time he had mastered the human form where he _could_ have been able of crying, he was as proud as now. As a pup, he had surely whimpered once or twice, but he could not recall such things.

"And you've ever laughed? Not smiled, or that creepy smirk of yours, just a burst of laughter."

"I have not," he declared with a risen eyebrow.

"At least some chuckling?"

His eyes narrowed. "No."

"Do you eat?" His other eyebrow joined the first. "Or sleep…? And in all those battles you never get dirty! Do you have to bathe?" She leaned closer, with bright, childish eyes. "I don't even know if you _breathe_ …"

"I am alive, miko."

"Oh, sure, silly me. I mean… I wonder how often you do those things… I've never seen you do any."

"Hnn."

"Of _course_ I haven't seen you bathing, b-but I mean, I can hardly catch it when you blink!"

"Youkai differ from humans in many ways. Taiyoukai, particularly."

"So they do…" She hesitated before continuing. "Have you ever been in love? Wanted someone special…?"

At this his eyes hardened with sharpness near to mockery. "When I hunger, I eat."

She blinked once. Twice. Suddenly her face reddened and she found the dirt under her feet worthy of her excruciating gaze. "That's not what I meant at all…! I was talking about _love_ …"

"I do not know such a whim."

"Love isn't a _whim_! It's as much as a necessity as breathing! Even if you've never loved a person, there must be _something_ you love!"

"Hnn."

"So there is?"

His eyebrow quirked.

"So there isn't… Or… Wait, I'm still not that good at translating you… Forget about it, you are too weird." When his chin lifted minutely, she cleared her throat. " _Weird_ in like non-human… You and I… well, we have different needs."

"Hnn. I shall take that as a compliment."

Not wishing to waste more time he handed her his white trail of fur and leapt graciously out of the well. Kagome finally remembered she had been feeling miserable moments ago, and sorrow crept quickly back in her. For some reason, the taiyoukai decided he was not having any of that pitiful stench around him. He had to change the course of her thoughts. "The blessings performed for the neighboring lord, were they successful?"

 _Oh, small talk, that's new… Things sure change as soon as you stop watching…_ "Ah… Yeah, but I got just a handful of coins, he was such a penny pincher… Meaning he wouldn't let go of his money."

"Hnn."

"How have things been these few days? Shippo hasn't returned early, has him?"

"He has not. The health and wealth of the villagers is still the same."

"That's good…"

And with that, an awkward silence settled between them. Awkward, at least, for her, because Sesshomaru seemed very much okay with being quiet.

"Miko, your scent smells uneasy."

"Oh, does it, bloodhound? Sorry, it must be annoying for you…" she mused internally a new conversation topic, and determined that, if she was to feel awkward, she could as well have Sesshomaru sharing her fate. "So… I never pictured you as a lady killer…"

" _Gender_ does not determine my objectives in battle."

She huffed. " _Meaning_ , you hitting it off with the girls! I couldn't imagine anyone having the courage… You've really never felt butterflies for anyone, not even in, what, a hundred years?"

"Do you believe that is my age?"

"Um… three hundred years?"

He smirked. "Thousands."

"R-really? Well, dermatologists must hate you…" Eyebrow. "It's just a bad joke from the future… I'd apologize because I say stuff out of sudden you don't understand, but I won't since I know half of the time you just tune me out…"

"Hnn."

She gave him a death side glare. "You could at least try to deny it, you know…" She cleared her throat. "So, butterflies, not once? Not in thousands of years?"

 _Why does she insist upon bringing up such a topic?_ "Assuming my deduction of your term 'butterflies' is correct: no."

"So you don't care about them? Even if they love you?" her tone betrayed her indignation.

"I do not inquire about the feelings of my food."

She stopped in her tracks and gapped at him "You can't treat women like _meat_! That's horrible! I thought you were better than that…"

"Miko."

"No, don't warn me off on this, I'm rightfully outraged… I can't believe it!"

He had turned at her and was glaring deadly into her eyes. But, once more, she refused to lower her gaze, so he complied. "Every female I have known was willing and cognizant of her actions. I have made no promises and bounded no one. Do _not_ insult my honor."

"So you just never cared about a single girl at all! Because they're grownups and know what they are doing! That's… that's…"

"A lie." Kagome stopped mid-sentence, and managed a confused 'huh?'

"I thought you said you've never fallen in love."

"Such a concept seems to have many synonyms for you and your kind, miko."

"So… You've cared, but never loved… You mean you've cared about all of them?"

"Do not be ridiculous, I have never bedded a female I _cared_ about. I cannot recall the name of a single one of them. They were acceptable and served their purpose. That is all."

Talking about his sexual life before was not something he could recall either. Discretion was not something he or any demon were worried about, actually most youkai females were eager to boast about their affairs with the Heir to the West. No one had dared to ask him about it, so this was almost amusing. Her growing indignation almost made him want to tease her.

"Who have you cared about, then?"

"The females in my pack."

Kagome suddenly blushed furiously, but knew that he meant he cared in a filial way. "Rin's in your pack too?"

"She was."

"Oh… so… You care about me, too?"

"I know your name."

"That's nothing, I mean…"

"And," he finally confessed, "I drink that hideous thing you dare to call fine sake."

"You don't like it!? But you always…! Just not to insult me?"

"Hnn."

"Don't be like that," she playfully scolded. "I'm from a place where we don't get offended by those little things…" _But easily find insulting many others_ , he mentally supplied. "You are free to do whatever you want… If you don't like it, give it to Rikichi-san, I'm sure he'll love it. I won't say 'give it to Miroku' 'cause he's got more than enough sake for himself after his last job at the neighboring village…"

She realized she was babbling again and quickly shut up. _He doesn't even know who I'm talking about… He doesn't pay much attention to humans…_

He quirked an eyebrow expecting the next question he knew would come when a rush of emotions encircled the priestess' aroma. "Say… None of my business, but have you slept with any humans?"

That was it. That was as far as he could bear the need to make her pay for her audacity. Still, he suppressed the need to smirk. "Why do you inquire?"

"I don't know, I'm trying to get a better picture of youkai here, th-that was the whole point, remember?"

"Hnn… This Sesshomaru is _not_ like _most_ youkai…"

"I know, I know… but I can't ask Shippo! So…" Her eyes rose and she trailed off, he was giving her a weird look, similar to the one he had when she had chocked on sake. _He's trying not to laugh at me?_ But there was also an intensity that got her fidgeting soon. "Ermh… Know what? I don't really want to know, I'm not sure why I asked… Let's get going."

"Hnn. Wise."

"Don't say those things, you'll make me curious again! I guess… I'm not a child anymore, and I can't ask anyone about some things, and since I lack, ehem, _experience_ … There's just stuff everyone should know, besides the basics…"

"Do you require instruction?" She stopped again, her mouth opening and closing in nervous stuttering, eyes suddenly watery, cheeks aflame, her scent startled. "You are under my protection now. Anything you need, I shall provide."

"Y-y-you pervert…!" she managed to breathe. And he scowled.

"Many midwives would be fitted to instruct you in certain matters. Given your quality as a miko, you could benefit from such studies."

"Ah, oh… ah…" she paled and was not sure what was worse: thinking Sesshomaru had just offered to sleep with her, or insulting him by voicing her suspicions. "S-sorry, you caught me off-guard. Sure, that would be good; I was a nervous wreck during Sango's last childbirth. I could use some more training with someone asides from Kaede-sama."

"It will be taken care of."

When the awkward silence spread this time it was mutual, but Kagome didn't have the guts to interrupt it again.

Just outside the village, however, she _had_ to know something. "Why didn't you just tell me it was none of my business?"

His eyes lazily blinked and fixed on her face for a second. She knew he was thinking of something, his pupils dilated and contracted faintly, his nostrils flared ever so slightly. "Oh, you don't know either."

When his eyes narrowed, she knew that was not it. _So he does know…_

While a renewed wave of blood invaded her face, she started to realize what he wasn't saying. But she was not given the time to read on it anymore. A lot of people had gathered to greet her.

* * *

She couldn't even look at him, but somehow, and to her utter dismay, she couldn't manage to be mad at him… actually, and more frustratingly, she was _thankful_.

He had _talked_ , for heavens sakes! Talked about _personal stuff_! _Answered_ her questions!

Still, the thought of what she had gotten from his last silence made her blush. ' _It could be your business. Offer and I shall accept.'_

Had she imagined it? Had he meant it? Sesshomaru was nothing special to her. Yes, she knew he was gorgeous, but definitely not her cup of tea. She was fairly certain her intention of making him feel awkward had backfired to her. _Dammit…!_

Now she didn't have time to think of how sad she was about the anniversary of her arrival, Inuyasha's rejection, or Shippo's absence. Now, all she could do was being mortified.

The afternoon grew late and shadows lengthened. She finally found the courage to leave Kaede's hut and face the possibility of encountering a certain taiyoukai ever since their first meeting in the morning, when she had returned. Instead, she found herself dumbstruck.

Jinenji was confidently standing by the infamous taiyoukai, his monstrously large clawed hand feeding seeds to the sparrows. One little bird had even been bold enough to perch on the Western Heir's armored shoulder.

But that was not exactly what stunned her.

Days before, when the miko left to perform her services, Sesshomaru had been presented with a problem. She was now his responsibility, and apparently she was not as judicious as himself when it came to selecting her packmates.

The monstrous hanyou seemed to now fall under the category of 'family' as well, and that meant measures had to be taken.

Such a conclusion had lead upon the present moment, when the half-breed almost glowed with happiness dressed in his brand-new thick linen clothing. Haori, hakama, kosode, even a pair of new sandals, all in an earth and green pallet that contrasted against his tanned skin.

Kagome gapped, but finally managed to come closer, practically ignoring the youkai. "Jinenji, you look amazing!"

Blushing, he sniffed and gave a little smile to the taiyoukai. "They were a gift from Sesshomaru-sama… The rest, too."

"Rest?"

"There is cotton and silk, too," he explained shyly.

"Really! That's amazing!" She turned brightly at the other male, grinning almost madly. "Thank you so much! I don't know how we could repay such kindness!"

He finally stopped ignoring her and his chin lifted a bit. "This is not charity or favor of any kind. This Sesshomaru is only attending to his responsibilities."

She cocked her head, but refrained from asking… for now. "Either way, thanks. It means a lot; we couldn't have afforded custom made youkai clothes for him…"

"Hnn."

He eyed her and discovered she was hardly containing her wish to hug him. Finally, she desisted and left with the half-breed, inquiring over the hanyou's new wardrobe.

And, deep down, he was pleased she was happy again.

* * *

 **A/N:** OHGOD, THIS CHAPTER FOUGHT ME SO MUCH... I rewrote it THREE TIMES. I usually correct the initual draft, not this torture! So sorry to keep you waiting, I hope you are ready for much more to come! ^^

 **ALSO! I got my self a full fledged beta!** Yay! She's also a professional English Teacher, so I know I'm in more than cappable hands :D So, let's all welcome **Kkgirls** into this fiction-family :D

Stay tuned for future updates of previous chapters, since now I have a pro to correct my ugly non-native English writing XD


	12. The Deadly Sins of Lust, Wrath, and Envy

**A/N:** Dear reviewers of mine... you ROCK. Seriously, it makes me so happy you're enjoying the story! I hope you can sit back and relax, because... there's still a dang lot to happen.

There's a couple of historical places and characters in this chapter, but I don't think there's need to credit because... well, they are real XD

Ejoy!

* * *

 **The Deadly Sins of Lust, Wrath, and Envy**

"Can I touch you?" His eyes sharpened in warning and she waved a hand in front of her face. "Don't be like that. One finger, three seconds. Cheek."

She did this more and more often lately. Since he rarely answered her questions, she found it educating to learn inu youkai through alternative paths. She had stared at him eating once, and since then, this was common. Bargains where usual too. "One finger, one second. Back of the hand."

"Ok, how about… one finger, three seconds, back of the hand."

"One finger, one second, cheek."

"Deal! May I?"

He nodded solemnly and the tip of her index traced a magenta stripe for a brief moment. His hand captured her wrist and she started. "Markings are off limits."

"S-sorry, I didn't know…" He released her with a low growl, yet permitted the accorded exploration. "You don't have body heat!" His eyebrow quirked and she shuddered under her rain straw hat that was covered in snow. "There's no cloud in front of your face when you breathe, it's so weird!"

"There is no purpose in wasting strength in temperature I have no need of."

"Yeah, I guess you are right…" She saw his pupils narrow, staring down the snowy hill, and as soon as he strode his way back to the village, she hurried to catch up. "What is it? Is there danger?"

"There are three men talking with the old miko. They are monks."

"I'll go check up on them, wait away, they might cause trouble."

Not turning to see his displeased expression, she hurried down the long stairs, careful not to slip on the frozen stone. She entered unannounced in Kaede's hut, but the elder could not have been more relieved to see her. "Good evening," she said with a dry tone.

"This here is Kagome, my successor. She shall soon be a qualified miko. Come, child, sit by the fire."

Without words, the eldest priestess had communicated one very important message. 'Careful.'

"Good evening, Kagome-sama. We were talking with your instructor regarding an overwhelming youkai aura that looms over this region."

"Hum, I see." She sat by the elder woman and nodded her way.

"Well, this old woman will leave ye youngsters to deal with this matters. I must attend to other things."

As soon as she left, Kagome's eyes took a more determined quality, and she inspected the trio in front of her. They were all around their forties, and while two of them were shintou houshi , one was a catholic priest, although he had Hindi factions. Kagome had never seen one in this era, and it only served to accentuate her bad feeling.

"Allow us to introduce ourselves, Kagome-sama. We are a delegation of the Shiroari Temple. My name is Yutaka, and these are Satoshi and Father Gonsalo. You will have to pardon him, since he is foreign to the language… We were alerted by travelers that demons inhabit this area, hence the reason of our sudden visit."

"Yes, that is true," Kagome responded straightforwardly. "This village is home to not only humans, but also hanyou and youkai. So, as you can see, there is no threat. You may leave without worries."

"Of course, milady Kagome. Yet, you would not deny three wandering holy men a night's rest. Would it be too much to ask to depart with the morrow?"

She took a deep, careful breath. "Yes, of course. You will stay with Sesshomaru-sama and me for the night. Tomorrow you might even get to know Miroku-sama, our priest. His wife would be pleased to meet you, too."

"Why, of course," said with a thin smile the one man that had spoken. "May I inquire; is this man that will be our host for the day your husband?"

"No, he is the Lord of the West. By youkai terms, of course… And one of my dearest friends and allies."

"Ah, I see." The reptilian grin only widened. "Well, we will be most honored to be hosted by his lordship and yourself as well. Now, if you would be so kind to point us towards the local traders, we will see for ourselves until nighttime."

"Follow me, please."

* * *

She thought she would have to beg. "They give me the creeps, and Kaede-sama doesn't like them either, but they're spending the night."

"Where?"

"At my house. Shippo's gonna stay with Sango. I want to keep an eye on them."

"You will not be with them alone."

"What do you propose? You're staying too?"

"Hnn."

"R-really…? Thanks, I'm glad I didn't have to ask."

* * *

He might have agreed to keep a _very_ close eye on the men, but that didn't mean he would socialize or show the barest of cordialities. Sesshomaru made sure the priests understood they were in his territories, and that they were not welcomed.

From his spot outside, he took slow, calculating inhalations. The two priestesses were silently hearing a sober story of the male's journey, occasionally commenting a phrase or two.

Even though the conversation could hardly be less stimulating, the taiyoukai's senses were completely focused on ever sound and shift in the scent of the men.

By the time Kaede excused herself it was late night. The old lady clearly didn't want to leave the girl alone, but the hour pressed. She bobbed her farewell to the demon and slowly made her way to her home.

Soon the younger miko set the beddings for the males, and procured to stay apparently busy for a while before exiting to meet him.

"All ok?"

"Hnn."

"I'm gonna go to sleep in the storeroom, you keep watch?" He nodded without looking her way. "As always." Even without seeing her, he knew she was smiling. "Mh… okay… G'night."

Silence reigned again. It was not until one hour later than Sesshomaru had to suppress a warning growl when Yutaka, the most talkative of the houshi, exited the house.

"A cold winter night. Will you not enter the house?" When he did not receive an answer, he ventured. "The fire still burns warm."

"I do not require such trivialities."

"Oh, of course milord. I will return to the house in a moment. I had an enquire I wished to voice."

"Speak, then."

"This village, is it under your protection?"

"The miko is. The people are hers to guard, and therefore their security is my responsibility as well."

"Is Kagome-sama, by any means, attached to you? You must forgive my intrusion, but it is my intention to settle and take a wife. Milady Kagome seems a most promising prospect, but I have learnt she has no family to approach with these matters. A bond between these lands and Shiroari Temple could be of strategic importance."

"If you question the nature of the relationship between the miko and this Sesshomaru, you must know I am not bounded to answer."

"Of course not, milord. Yet, I would expect these mundane human affairs were of little importance to you."

"You will not claim her."

For the first time, the monk found himself under the sharp golden eyes of the demon, which shone under the grey light of the night. Smiling with a disgusting softness, the human spoke. "May I know your reasons?"

 _You have not attained the right to claim the Shikon Miko. You are too much of a lowlife, a simple and worthless man._ "No."

"Very well, milord. I must, still, ask; is there any way this humble priest could change such decree?"

Measuring the houshi with keen eyes, he determined he was, and would forever be, scum. "No."

"Of course. Have a good night, milord."

Only when the man entered into the hut again, Sesshomaru noticed his claws had dug into the wood of the doorframe.

* * *

"If may I be so bold, Kagome-sama," the chatty monk began, and inwardly she rolled her eyes. "Is Sesshomaru-sama your… ah, what could be the proper term… Companion?"

"I don't understand," she said without paying attention while pouring tea, hoping the men would be gone within the hour.

"By youkai laws marriage is non-existent. They couple in different fashions."

"You mean if I'm his mate?"

"Ah, precisely!"

She didn't bother to hide her indignation, and her grip tightened around the wooden hold of the kettle. "No. And I fail to see why you have to ask again."

"The parameters of the relationship are… strange… you seem very comfortable in the company of such a… _being_."

Her cheeks burned with fury, and even if she didn't know this was some sort of jealous fury streak from the monk, this was crossing too many lines. "Now, allow me to explain, even if I don't _have_ to. Sesshomaru-sama is the brother of my former intended mate and husband who was, yes, at least part youkai. And I would be pleased if you didn't call them by anything that implies my friends aren't _people_."

As he shouldered his bag, he showed a sly smile. "Oh, my apologies, milady. I could not have imagined your tastes ran to their _kind_ , or that you would reside with a male you are not _formally_ involved with. Did Sesshomaru-sama's brother perish?"

On the verge of her patience, Kagome found strength to answer. "No, circumstances presented themselves and our union couldn't be. I hope your curiosity is satisfied."

"Oh, I _see_. Well, milady, we hoped we could meet Miroku-sama, but his lovely wife will have to communicate him our intention to ally both this shrine and our Temple."

"He surely will consider it. Allow me to escort you to the village's entrance."

Kagome tried with all she had to tolerate the trio, but when Shippo arrived and climbed up her shoulder, both of his tails twitching nervously, the knot in her stomach pressed harder.

"Lovely fox. Two tails, you must have attained your hundredth year?"

"Not yet, but I've trained hard so I got it earlier."

"Oh, I never heard of such a feat! Milady Kagome, this pet of yours is remarkable!"

Kagome stopped walking, gasping outraged. The kitsune's little claws dug superficially in her skin, sharing her fury, but before either of them could voice hardly polite words, a flash of silver hair got her quiet.

The reptilian and almost triumphant smile crept across the monk as Bakusaiga stopped a hair away from the skin of his throat. Neither he nor his two companions batted an eye. Sesshomaru's golden orbs remained lazily locked on the priest, although his youki flared all around the group.

"You will not return to this village. If you or your subordinates disobey, this Sesshomaru will personally execute you and any trespassers."

"Do you threat Yutaka-sama's life?" voiced Satoshi with a grave tone.

"Should I exemplify the fate of others with his assistance?"

"Oh, there is no need, milord, we will take your warning at heart," interjected Yutaka, smoothly stepping away from the sword. "If you excuse us now, we have a long way ahead of us."

As if nothing had happened, he waved friendly at the taiyoukai, the girl, and the fox, whirling and walking away.

Once their silhouettes disappeared in the distance, Kagome exhaled the breath she was holding, hugged Shippo tightly against her chest and started crying.

* * *

Sango and Miroku's son, Eiji, was now a year and a half, and Shippo had officially graduated from the kitsune academy with his second tail. And he even looked taller.

The twins, now five, had gotten into their taijiya training, although Nashiko seemed more interested in spending her day with Jinenji, Kaede, and Kagome.

During the winter when the priests visited, Kagome's bad feeling only grew. She knew this couldn't be the end of it, but couldn't pass by that hunch.

Only a month after it, she managed to sleep calmly again. And the change didn't go unnoticed to neither herself, Shippo, or Sesshomaru.

The next day, she decided she had to face him. "I'm ok." His right eyebrow rose, and he sniffed an overwhelming scent of anxiety. _Surely she does not seem so_. "I mean," she continued steeling herself. "I don't want you to think you _have_ to keep on taking care of me… I know we are pack, but… Ermh… Look, I release you from your duties with me; you don't have to do anything you don't want to… I'll be ok if you leave, but I don't mean you have to. I just want you to do… whatever you would like to do… I mean…"

"Are you finished?"

"Huh?" She blinked. "Ermh… sure…"

"Good."

From his place up on a branch, a knee bent and his arm casually hanging on it, he resumed his visual exploration of the horizon. Ignoring the miko.

* * *

That night, as she tucked Shippo in, she bit her lip to suppress a worried sigh. Sesshomaru hadn't come yet, as he used to, after the kitsune and her were done with dinner.

Soon, the fox was sound asleep, as usual, and she took cover under a thick cotton blanket.

She exited the hut, pulling the mantle closer around her shoulders.

The snow had stopped, but the winter landscape was white and clear, closer now to spring. The bright hills shone under the moonlight, and it took her a moment to see him against the whiteness. "Hey, I didn't know if you'd come… I guessed you'd just… leave… Wanna come in?"

"I depart before dawn. This is only a brief halt."

"Oh… that's ok… so, you came to say goodbye?"

"Hnn."

"That's very nice of you, thanks… Will you come back some day?"

"Do you require me to do so?"

"That doesn't matter. Would you like to come back?"

"That remains to be seen." The chilly wind blew and she shuddered. "You must take refuge, a blizzard approaches."

"That's bad, but thanks for the warning. I'll tell the villagers."

"Hnn."

"Well… I hope to see you again soon. Goodbye, I guess. Thanks for taking care of us."

He nodded solemnly and she turned to enter the hut. She felt a little sick. After over a year, she was starting to think Sesshomaru would stay permanently, and not leave as soon as she stated his presence was wanted, but not longer necessary.

"Miko."

"Huh?" She muttered dispirited, whirling. "Is something the mat…?"

She didn't finish the sentence. His hand had cupped her cheek and his thumb brushed her lower lip delicately. She wanted to voice her shock, but was frozen, although her quickened heartbeat had a heat spreading across her chest.

Her breath caught when Sesshomaru leaned down and pressed his forehead against her, then brushed his cheek with hers, and finally stopped to look at her in the eyes, his lips barely away from hers.

"Wh-what are you doing?"

Taking a slow deep breath, the intensity in his eyes burned brighter. _No fear._ "Making sure."

And with that he dove in, capturing her waist and nape with his hands and her mouth with his own. Slowly but irresistibly thoroughly, he explored her lips. And for some reason far beyond her own comprehension she responded with a sigh that allowed him to deepen the kiss. He meticulously investigated her tongue, her flavor, her sighs. When her little, shaking hands clung to the edge of his armor he pressed further, more hungry, more animalistic. With the first tiny moan, he groaned, and when she finally parted the kiss to breathe, he wanted more.

But it was too soon.

Her face was flushed, her reddened lips were parted and wet, her chest went up and down rhythmically. He smirked, caressed her cheek down her neck, leaned again and left a feather-like kiss on her lips. "I shall return. I do not know when, but I will."

"O-ok… I'll wait."

"Hnn."

He turned and disappeared in the white landscape. Kagome realized she wasn't cold anymore and rested heavily against the hut's wooden wall.

 _What on_ _earth_ _had just happened?_

* * *

 **A/N:** Hey, look at that, it only took me twelve chapters to give us some bad guys!

Please, let me know if you find any mistakes that should be corrected. Also, suggestions are always welcomed. Although this is my story, I'd love to hear what you guys would like to read. Anyone OOC? More of someone? Too much of something? Be my guest, your thoughts are always heard!

Enjoy you people! Thanks a lot to Kim, my super pro beta ^^


	13. Odysseus

**A/N:** some historical and explainatory notes regarding this chapter:

*Christianity in Japan was a controversial matter. After a former acceptance of the religion to encourage trading relationships with Spain and Portugal, certain political matters caused that during the last years of the 1500s and the early 1600s, every christian and catholic was persecuted and most of the times executed. This was, for example, the case of the twenty six Martyrs of Japan. It was not until the 19th century that, with the opening of the country to the rest of the world, christianity was accepted as a religion.

*The baku are traditional Chinese mythologycal creatures that resemble elephants and feed of the nightmares, protecting children. It is common kids sleep with a baku amulet under their pillow, or that they call the creatures' name to resume into peaceful sleeping.

*The myth of creation is found in pretty much every single culture we have knowledge of. Since youkai are, in this story, older than human kind, their creation myth is similar to those of several religions and populations. The four creatures Jaken metions are the inu-youkai, the tengu, the nekomata and several water deities such as watatsumi or isonade, who guard the borders of the worlds, the creatures under the skies, the souls of the death, and the depths of the seas respectively.

*You probably already know Odysseus, famous Greek hero. Specifically I chose him regarding Penelope, who waited patiently for him to return, while he kept on living his life, feeling pain, facing danger... and, well, not exactly _waiting._

 ** _As usual, special thanks to Kim. BEST. BETA. EVER._**

* * *

 **Odysseus**

It took Kagome a whole week to finally deal with the fact that no other than _Sesshomaru_ had kissed her. Understanding _why_ was a much different matter, but not nearly as important as the reason why _she_ had kissed him _back_.

As time went by, she considered every single possibility. Was it because he reminded her of Inuyasha? Because she couldn't be impolite enough to reject him? Because she was scared to hurt his feelings?

 _Nah. Not that._

She was, however, sure of two things. First, _that_ event had something or everything to do with her telling him to do whatever he _wanted_ to do. And second, and more importantly, she had _not_ kissed him back because she liked him.

Well… at least, not the way she _liked_ Inuyasha.

She knew what it was like to be in love. She had never been the kind of dreamy girl, who falls for every boy, so when love hit her full force across the face, she didn't take long to recognize it.

But… she had never been broken hearted by the time she fell for Inuyasha.

 _Maybe_ she did like Sesshomaru, but was still recovering from her previous relationship.

She smiled at this thought. Her life was so unusual, yet so many girls had been in her shoes before.

The lump in her throat that didn't allow her to cry for her hanyou anymore was similar to the one she had whenever a shard of the Jewel was taken away from her group. She knew that, in the end, everything would turn out ok, but for now, she had to fight through it… except, this time, there was no Shikon no Tama… she was only picking up the pieces of her heart.

By summer, when she turned twenty one, however, her thoughts were plagued by something far more important.

She swallowed hard and came closer to him. "Jaken-sama, may I have a word?"

The imp eyed her suspiciously: he knew she was that proper only when she was about to ask for something or cross a line. Still, obediently, he left Eiji, Sango and Miroku's youngest, in Rin's arms and followed the priestess in training. He waited as she sat under the shade of a tree.

"What do you know about youkai? I mean, dog ones."

His bulbous eyes narrowed distrustfully, but he cleared his throat. "Serving milord Sesshomaru for as long as I have, I know everything there is to know about inu-youkai. Their species is proud and great, one of the oldest to inhabit this world."

"Is it?"

"Yes, of course. Humans cannot recall the dawn of the Earth, but many demonic archivists assure the inu-youkai were one of the first great four species."

"Which would be?"

"Dogs to guard the borders, Crows to sentry the skies, Water Creatures to keep the secrets of the depths, and Cats to separate the souls of the dead and the living."

"R-really! I didn't know any of that. What borders do the Dogs watch?"

"Why, every single one!"

"Umh… that doesn't make too much sense… Still, I wanted to ask you about something else… about the Mark inu-youkai put on their intended females."

Jaken's face constricted at the delicate topic. "What about it?"

"What _does_ it do? Sesshomaru-sama said the power of Inuyasha protected me, even if we didn't mate in the end."

Folding his arms across his chest, the imp meditated her words. "It would make sense, since you are just human."

"I can heal faster, almost as fast as Inuyasha could, but everything else, resting, feeding, aura… It's all the same."

"Is it now?" Kagome gulped. "You haven't noticed anything else that is… _unusual_?"

"I… I think…"

"Mh?"

"I think… I might not be aging."

* * *

With all and all, she had managed to be happy once more.

She finally dealt with the matter telling herself she would not be immortal, but simply very long-lived and healthy.

Once she managed to shrug it off and postpone the mourning of seeing every single one of her beloved human friends die, she realized the world kept spinning and life was beautiful.

Still, it took Kagome two more years to understand why she had kissed Sesshomaru… She had, finally, started healing. And had decided to live again.

For the first time she had _seen_ him, realized he was always by her side, taking care of her and all those she loved… she had discovered she _could_ like him and that maybe, just maybe… she already did.

He plagued her thoughts for years, and her heartbeat quickened every time she remembered that kiss… It had been so different from Inuyasha's rough love… so meticulously delicious, so slowly devastating… He was thousands of years ahead of her, and yet he had been her equal in that kiss… Not overpowering her, like an embrace.

She had goosebumps every time.

* * *

When she turned twenty three, she buried Kaede, who passed away in her sleep at age sixty eight. And after the tears she had taken upon the responsibility of being the village's miko, and everything that involved.

Autumn was still warm.

"No, sweetheart, you have to pull the leaves _up_ , so the stem and the twigs won't be damaged and it can grow again."

Nashiko nodded, and inspected Jinenji's large hands as he expertly defoliated the herbs. Now that she was eight years old she had officially started her priestess training. And loved every single minute of it.

"Auntie! Father wants to see you! He says there's a taiyoukai who came looking for you!"

While kneeling on the dirt, her eyes darted towards the almost five years old boy. Eiji's stance was one of pure duty and seriousness, and she might have laughed on other circumstances, but right now, she was busy tripping and falling while running to see Sango and Miroku.

Her pulse quickened, and she tumbled while opening the door. She could feel the formidable youki brushing across her face, and her lips parted to whisper his name. "Sesshomaru-sama?"

Touran blinked and Miroku cleared his throat. "Kagome-sama, do you remember Touran-sama of the Panther Devas?"

"My apologies, priestess, I guess I'm not the one you expected to see?" the demoness purred.

Kagome blushed but sat by Miroku's side with as much dignity as she could. "What do you want, Touran? I hope you aren't here to fight again."

The feline woman's dark blue eyes hardened, and Miroku interjected. "Touran-sama has come with an offer of alliance. The Panther Tribe was forced to leave the West, and will migrate across the ocean this winter."

The miko started. "But why? What happened?"

"Youkai-hunters. They aren't taijiya, but much more deadly and efficient. My people have suffered many losses… We aren't asking anything but to camp in this region under your protection, to restock and rest. We'll be gone within the week."

"So you need political asylum? Of _course_ , you can stay… under two conditions."

Touran nodded. "Name them."

"First, you can't hurt the people of the village in any way and will help with the preparations for the winter."

"We can help gather wood and meat to dry for the cold season."

"How many cats are coming?"

"Thirteen, myself included. I'll fetch the rest, we'll be here by tomorrow night."

Kagome gasped. "Only thirteen?"

The feline's jaw clenched. "These hunters are _very_ efficient. Your second condition?"

"You'll tell us everything you know about these exterminators, and if it comes to it, you'll help us defeat them."

Touran nodded. "I wouldn't have it any other way."

The cat demon began her story relating how a houshi and a foreign miko had warned them to leave their territories, to which they refused.

"It was strange," she breathed. "They just seemed… normal humans… But they singed Karan and Shuuran out of existence with just two sutras… and anyone who stood their ground to them. The rest of us barely made it out alive and managed to cross the sea, but we can't keep on going anymore."

Only then Kagome realized the precarious condition of the demoness. Dark circles drew under her eyes and her armor was cracked everywhere. For a taiyoukai, it was saying a lot. "Goodness…"

"That wasn't even the last of it. They've been at our backs for weeks, and we are traveling slow with so many injured."

"Had you heard about this sort of attack before, Touran-sama?"

"No, but I heard rumors of the baku migrating north, and their patriarch's death."

Miroku started. "Such terrible news. Still, I would not like to believe these holy men prey upon gentle creatures such as the baku of the west."

"What are those?" Kagome inquired.

"They are huge youkai that protect human children and devour nightmares; they came from the lands of Bharata, from the western jungles."

"That's… That's India…" she could recall the name, itching on the verge of her memory. Getting a hunch, she inquired. "What did the miko look like, Touran?"

"She… looked different," she admitted. "She was very tall, and had green eyes. She wore black and white, drapes covering her whole head and neck, except for her face."

"A nun!"

"Do you know anything of these people, Kagome-sama?"

"Remember the priests I told you about? The ones that visited three years ago?"

"Yes, one of them was a holy man of a foreign cult."

"Catholicism, or Christianity, I guess. I don't really know too much about it, but I know how they look like. I can't understand what they are doing around here. Their religion wasn't a big deal in Japan until much later."

Touran tilted her head in confusion, but Miroku proceeded. "Mh, anything else?"

"Nothing I could guess that matters."

"I see. Touran-sama, you can rest here tonight, we will be ready to receive your people."

The feline stood, tall and proud. "No, I will return immediately. They have to make it to safety as soon as possible. I'll have time to rest when my kin is out of harm's way."

"I understand," the monk nodded.

"Would you like to eat something before leaving? Taking a bath? Is there anything else we can help you with?" Inquired the priestess, causing the cat to smirk.

"I'll leave within the hour; it'll just take a moment to catch my breath." The miko nodded, but the worried look hadn't left her eyes. "And, Kagome?"

"Huh?"

"Thank you."

* * *

Blushing furiously, she bit her lip. _This is ridiculous; I used to wear short skirts all the time! Why am I so embarrassed?_

"Oh, you look lovely, Kagome-san!" Shunran, the Spring Storm, clapped her clawed hands in front of her fanged grin.

"Yes, it really suits you, auntie!" Rin's slender fingers braided the red mane of the demoness with practiced ease, placing late autumn blossoms between the tresses. "Reminds me a lot of how you used to dress so long ago."

Kagome fidgeted in place, looking down self consciously at the short green kimono that ended above the middle of her thighs. She played with the huge pink ribbon that laced around her waist.

"Stop messing with the obi, you'll undo it!" Chided the youkai clad in white and red miko garments.

"It's really pretty, but I guess I'm not used to these clothes anymore."

"Still, Shunran-sama dared you to exchange clothing for a whole day, auntie, you can't back down now! Are you _scared_?" Momoko's infantile tone was carefree, but deliberately sly.

She glared down at the pink dressed twin with deadly eyes. "You little… Ok, ok, fine. I won't complain."

Just then Touran announced herself at the door, entering the crowded hut. "Sister, the hunting party w… Oh." The taiyoukai blinked as her sister giggled and Kagome blushed even more. Redirecting her eyes from the miko to the priestess-dressed demon, she began anew. "The hunting party will leave in two hours… You'll go wearing _that_?"

"Don't you think I look pretty, sis?"

Alternating her eyes between Kagome and the cat, she smirked. "Well, you could use some decent clothing from time to time, and Kagome needs to remember she's a woman. I can't see the harm in it."

Nashiko cocked her head and Rin smiled with a wink at Momoko. Kagome sat on her heels and clenched her fists. "I don't like this bet anymore…"

Standing up and pulling her new too-long hakama, the younger youkai snorted. "It's gonna be fun to hunt in this!"

Both demonesses left the hut, and Rin sat behind her adoptive aunt to braid her hair too. "This is killing you, isn't it?"

Kagome eyed the sixteen years old with a pitiful look. "Well, if _I_ didn't accept she could have dared you! These are no clothes for a child!"

"Oh, c'mon, auntie! I am old enough to get married! You surely haven't forgotten you didn't dress much different than that when you were _younger_ than me!"

"I remember!" Voiced Momoko.

"No, you don't, or I'd remember too!" Countered her twin. And an argument began.

Kagome smirked. These girls-only gatherings at her place were common, and she wondered if she had been permanently designated as the town's bachelorette whose nieces adored. And she sighed.

"Oh, you are thinking of Sesshomaru-sama."

Kagome started and turned abruptly, almost causing Rin to pull her hair. "Am _not_!"

"Are so! You always sigh like that when you think of him!"

"I was thinking about you three," she glared at the younger sisters, who grinned at her confidently.

"Mh, if you say so…"

Kagome played with her huge pink obi knot for a moment before a tiny sigh escaped her lips again. And she gave a side long glance at Rin before the teenager could say a word, although she was smiling broadly. "Yeah, yeah, I'm thinking of him now, and it's your fault!"

She chuckled. "You really miss him, don't you?"

"Well, _of course_. I haven't seen him in years, I'm worried… I wonder what he's been up to…" She drooped. "He must be really busy if he hasn't showed up to say 'hi' in all this time."

"You said he promised he'd be back, so there's nothing to worry about."

"Yeah, auntie, so don't be sad."

"I know, I know… But… It's not that he won't come back… It's about _when_ he left…"

"What do you mean?" The elder girl asked with suspiciousness.

Kagome cleared her throat. "Momoko-chan, Nashiko-chan, would you leave your big sis and me alone for a minute?"

"No way."

"In your dreams."

Kagome stared at them and resigned, defeated. "Ok, but you three have to keep this secret, no one but Sango-chan knows about it. Am I clear?"

"Yes, miss!"

"Umh… It could have been… In the off chance that, right before he left… he might have… just probably… kissed me."

Rin tugged at her hair. "I _knew_ it!"

"Huh!?"

"Oh, it was so _obvious_ you two liked each other! You were a mess right after he left!"

"Are you serious, auntie!? _The_ Sesshomaru-sama?" The little girls asked in unison, delighted to be a part of adult gossiping.

Kagome's face burned and she fidgeted in place. "T'was just one kiss! I'm… not even sure what he meant by it."

"Tell what it was like!" The teenager insisted, and her auntie struggled for words.

"I'm not sure how to describe it, it was…" Her pulse quickened. "It was… nice."

* * *

"We'll send messengers from across the ocean as often as possible. If you need our help, we'll come immediately." Kagome bent ceremoniously and Touran mimicked her movement. "The Panther Tribe will always be in debt for your kindness. I'd wish there was more we could do for you."

"S'okay, you've helped us so much. Thank you for your aid."

As her husband murmured a prayer for the travelers, Sango approached with Kohaku to deliver some heirlooms that would bring good fortune for the group. "We hope you have a safe trip."

"Thank you, Sango-san," answered Shunran with a fanged grin. "And thanks again for your hospitality."

"We should get going, we're wasting daylight." As the group of cats turned to leave, Touran casually looked over her shoulder at the miko, who waved amiably. "By the way, Kagome, send our regards to that watchdog of yours when you see him again."

She froze, and wasn't sure of _which_ of the brothers the feline was talking about.

Rin and her sisters giggled madly.

* * *

The last days of autumn were burning fiery red in the sunset. The air stood still and leaves fell from their own weight.

Holding a basket of ginger, Kagome leaned against the Goshinboku and left one of the roots in front of Kaede's tomb. "I'm sorry I didn't come yesterday, the Panther Tribe was leaving and there was so much to do."

Sitting on her heels, she kissed the smooth gravestone with Hisashi's name on it, leaving an acorn and some late berries at its base. "From Shippo."

She sighed heavily and only when a droplet made its way into the corner of her mouth, she realized she was crying.

"It's been over five years since I came back here… Eight since the first time, when the Jewel broke…"

Playing with a dry twig between her fingers, she murmured. "People who wish for eternal life are so dumb… It could be very lonely."

She sniffed and whipped away the tears. She was so angry, why had Sesshomaru left her too? What could possibly be taking him so long? How could he leave like that, after… after…?

 _After_ _that_ _!_

She was sure of one thing. When he returned he _would_ listen to her.

Her aura flared furiously around her in pink hues. Even if she was a competent miko nowadays, she still had trouble controlling her emotions.

She took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, trying to calm herself. When she opened her eyes she discovered a barrier forming a dome around her. _Damn! Why does that keep happening when I don't want it to!_

She rested her forehead against the bark of the God Tree and groaned in frustration. "You left too early, Kaede-sama. I must be the worst miko _ever_!"

"You cannot even detect the presence of youkai nearby."

She started and, when turning, she gave herself whiplash. Cringing, with a hand on her neck, and a spreading tingling pain at the base of her skull, she peeped across the clear surface of the barrier. "Who's there?" She called loudly.

Leaving the basket on the floor she stood, ignoring the pain. "I'm warning you, come out or…"

"Or _what_?"

When he stepped into view from the depth of the forest, her breath caught. There he was, all sparkly in white silk, as if time hadn't passed for him either. Her eyes flooded with tears and she smiled. "S-Sesshomaru-sama!"

Stumbling, she launched herself to his arms, shaking him softly. "You left!"

"I said I would return."

"Y-yeah, but… for three years! What took you so long! I was so worried! Why did you leave like that!?"

As soon as she felt his slender hand caressing her head, she sobbed pathetically, clasping her arms around him tightly, staining his kimono with salt, not even noticing the absence of his armor.

"You got me so scared, I thought it would take you _forever_ … I'm so glad you are back home. What were you _doing_?"

His breath froze, and she noticed. Stepping away from her, his eyes steeled again, but he didn't talk.

Instead, he stepped aside, letting her see the red clad male whose gaze was locked on the ground, jaw and fists clenched.

She gasped.

"Inuyasha?"


	14. Penelope

**A/N:** As usual, special thanks to _**Kim.**_ Not only for being the best beta ever, but also for regulatin my sleeping patters and saving me from myself and my self-destructive obsession with writing sleep deprived until the brink of exhaustion.

* * *

 **Penelope**

He suspected it soon, but it took him years to find him.

Where could the hanyou go that he couldn't find his track?

The fact that he had to return every month to his new burdening responsibility didn't help either. His self-motivated quest had to be periodically interrupted, and when she finally requested from him to stay, he determined it was time to leave the matter behind.

In the first place, he had decided to find his half-brother to satisfy his own pride. During the one week the little miko had been by his side on open field trying to track him down, he couldn't find the slightest of hints, except that he had gone north.

For a long time he surveyed the boreal lands, until he was required to be the village's watchdog.

He hated to be reduced to a caretaker again… but as time passed, he realized something far more disturbing.

It took him two months of constant closeness to realize he _desired_ the priestess.

He was sure he would end up bedding a human sooner or later. His father's eagerness to leave it all behind for his little lover had piqued his curiosity when younger, and centuries hadn't erased the wish to _know_.

There had been many eager mortals, but disgustingly banal. For him, a human princess was as common as a peasant, equally despicable.

But a willing miko… _The Shikon Miko_ , was a much more alluring prospect.

As days passed he found her femininity intoxicating. The scent of her skin after bathing, the manner she licked her lips when thinking, the way she combed her hair, or how she poured that infamous sake for him with a dedication he could not find a heart to reject.

On a fateful day he found her mourning in the Well, crying, desolated… alone…

And he wanted more than her body… he wished to ease her sadness, to calm her sorrow.

A bad signal.

It was devastating to realize _none_ of the things he found enthralling had _anything_ to do with her virginal holiness. The fact that she was a powerful priestess had been completely overlooked by his instincts.

So he stayed. He stayed to find out _why_ the little human could heat his blood, attracting him with the mundane condition that had made every other mortal woman deplorable.

He inched closer, but the clumsy air-headed girl couldn't even notice his regard, the very regard he was so furiously fighting and embracing simultaneously.

For over a year he allowed her whims, her closeness, her tenderness. When he decided he could not fall victim of blind desire for a miko, a demon's natural enemy, he stopped answering her questions… To which she recurred to learn by touch.

He found he couldn't deny it to her, and every time her fingers inspected his hair, his clothes, his fur… something roared inside of him, begging to take her.

One day she brushed his markings, and he almost lost control.

She could not know the meaning behind her actions. A taiyoukai's markings were a symbol of pride and dignity. There were not two high ranked demons with the same attributes. _Everything_ he was and had accomplished was represented in the stripes that adorned his face, like a crest, bore in plain sight to tell the world _this_ was Sesshomaru, and this was the emblem of his works.

Only a mate, a chosen one not tied by blood, could attain the right to touch such a sign of distinctiveness, to simply reach out and caress one's whole being represented in colored skin. 'You belong to me, I can lay a hand on the very thing that makes you, _you_.'

Besides, markings were infernally sensitive.

When her fingertips enticingly brushed a cheek stripe for a fraction of second, it felt disconcertingly _right_. She was so open her entire existence was a declaration of who she was, and when her bared soul clashed with his in a delicate stroke, he almost lost his mind.

If he was the cheerful type he could have laughed, for after touching the forbidden lines and teasing his skin, she declared he had no corporal temperature.

If she only knew his blood was boiling, but her senses were too dull to perceive a difference…

But that very same day, when a foreigner intended to claim her, he was reminded of something.

She was not his.

For a month he pondered this dilemma. He inwardly declared his duty came first, and, as her alpha, his responsibility was to attain to her necessities.

And what she needed was Inuyasha.

The realization stung like venom, but it was clear to see. She needed one who adored her, who knew every rough edge of her soul, who _would_ take her as a mate and not simply desired to bed her.

She _deserved_ Inuyasha.

Seeing the plain truth was almost as harsh as knowing from her own mouth she didn't need him anymore. And once he was free to come and go as he pleased again, even if it never was otherwise, he took a taste of the one thing his whole being carved before attaining to his duties.

A moment of selfishness, a second of weakness.

Kissing her was like air after holding one's breath, feeling the curve of her back, her body pressed against his chest, the scent of her arousal… her acceptation.

But he did not hesitate and left to provide her with that she needed.

Which proved to be far more troublesome than he would have expected.

Three years. It took him three welcomed years to find the hanyou.

A part of him was glad he could have some years to detoxify himself of the miko's sweet poison, and he hushed any other internal voice that would dare to argue with the first one.

By the time he returned, he guessed, she would have forgotten the matter. Human's insignificant lifetimes were so brief their memories and hearts held loose grip of many things, and she might as well have left that only kiss behind.

Three years was a mere blink for a demon, but so many things could change for a mortal…

He resumed his inspection of the northern lands, following the steps of the hanyou just like a year and a half before, right where he had left.

Tracking him down was fairly easy… at least while he was still in this world.

Soon, he found the wandering of the half demon had taken him to Mount Osore, which burned with hellfire.

The nekomata that guarded the gate of hell were solicitous and confided that yes, indeed, the half-breed had trespassed the portal, slaying several sentinels in the process. They could not understand why a creature who was so eager to die would not choose less _troublesome_ methods, but, in the end, the hybrid got what he wanted, entering the raging flames of earth, consumed away in body and soul.

He growled. Fetching his brother from hell would be tiresome.

Luckily, the Gate of the Afterlife was opened for him, and Gozu and Mezu were as eager as always to let him go through.

He traveled the underworld, up and down, turning every stone, questioning the spirits of the dead, threatening the vassals of hell.

After some time, lacking moon or sun to keep track of time, he lost count of the days. But after he made sure he had swept the whole extension of the underworld, he cursed his hybrid brother.

Where? Where had he gone? How could he possibly hide from him, the greatest hound of all?

In his true form, striding across the skies, he began his way back, deciding it was not worth his time to keep on searching the lands of the dead. But soon, he realized his mistake.

As he crossed the grey planes of the Border of the Afterlife he saw the obvious. Inuyasha was _not_ in hell, for he did not wish to die… but he had not stayed on Earth, since he was not partial to living, either.

He simply wished to be _away_ , and the frontier of the words, where his father's bones rested, was a good place to try and find peace again.

He searched for a last time in the eternal plain cosmos ,and soon located the hybrid, as dull as everything in the limits of existence.

"What do ya want?" were his harsh words… even after his brother had wasted years searching for him.

Their golden eyes locked, but betrayed nothing. Faced with a duel, he proceeded.

"You are to return."

"Don't fucking dream of it, and why do ya care? This' got nothing to do with you…"

His eyebrow rose defiantly. "Your _precious_ miko requested me to find you."

Inuyasha backed up and growled. "Still, how's that any of your business?"

"As your intended mate, she demanded her privilege as a rightful packmate. This was her need, her alpha is complying."

"Bullshit, you and I ain't pack, so you've got no obligation to her. Just because we share blood it mean' nothing and you _know it_."

"True, but this Sesshomaru claimed her."

Without realizing, the hanyou bared his fangs. "WHAT!?"

"I claimed her as pack. She is my responsibility now."

"Why'd ya do that?"

"I found her desperation… amusing. My caprice was to know at what lengths she would go to find you."

Inuyasha growled furiously. "I won't let you play with her!"

At this, the demon's youki exploded aggressively against him, even as his expression remained impassive.

The hybrid flinched, but stood his ground, growling warningly, ready for combat if necessary.

Sesshomaru had to pay attention to the part of him that warned this was not going as intended.

"She needs you."

The half-breed started. "What do ya mean?"

With a somber expression, Sesshomaru stepped closer. "She _needs_ you."

Clenching his fists and jaw, the younger's eyes lowered painfully. "You know why I can't go… You know it damn well! I… I have to stay away."

But the older brother simply looked at him, burning on the inside, detesting the halfer that was the only hope for the object of his fixation.

Slowly, the taiyoukai spoke in grave tones. " _She needs you_."

Biting down hard on his lower lip, Inuyasha's eyes locked on the dirt at his feet. "Okay… I'll go back."

Pleased and devastated, his brother nodded.

* * *

 **A/N:** In case you hadn't noticed, Kagome is Odysseus, and Inuyasha is Penelope.

Oh, and btw, don't worry about the minuscule length of this chapter, I'm posting the next one right away. Two shorties to make up for a normal-sized one XD


	15. Euclidean parallelism

**A/N:**

 **ALERT, ALERT. I published this and the previous chapter almost simultaneously, so remember to check out the one before this one, since you probably skipped it!**

As usual, special thanks to _**Kim.**_ Not only for being the best beta ever, but also for regulatin my sleeping patters and saving me from myself and my self-destructive obsession with writing sleep deprived until the brink of exhaustion.

* * *

 **Euclidean Parallelism**

When Shippo finally snored soundly, Kagome exhaled and found her resolution. "We have to talk."

The hanyou couldn't even look at her, and the orange light made his dull eyes look bronze toned. "Yeah."

"Let's go outside."

Walking under the crescent moonlight, the autumn night was amiably warm with the last brush of summer. Kagome was thankful for that.

She sat under the Goshinboku, bobbing her head respectfully at the tombs. She was as aware as him that was the place he had said goodbye.

And silence settled for a minute.

"I'm sor-"

"Don't…" She interrupted. Clenching his fists, Inuyasha's eyes locked on the infant's tomb. Hisashi's name, the first son and third born of his friends, was barely readable in the night for human eyes, but not for him. "Let me tell you what I wanna say before you speak."

He nodded.

"I'm not mad at you," she continued. "And I'm not really that sad anymore… Or maybe I've learnt to live with it… You don't have to apologize, Inuyasha… And I won't even ask why you left… I know it was important enough; I trust your reasons…"

For the first time, he looked at her. And for a second, Kagome thought he looked much older.

She wanted to kiss him, hug him, hold his hand… But she had to help him first. If they were going to fight against their love, they would both be necessary to defeat the need to be together.

With a bright smile and tears threatening to fall, she shrugged. "I'm just happy you are back."

"Kagome… I…"

"If you're gonna be sorry about something, be sorry with me because of what caused this, not because of what you did… I know you only did it because you thought it was best… That's what you always do."

She drew a circle repeatedly on the dirt with the tip of her sandal, and tears finally fell. "I know you might not be back, that you might leave any minute now… But I'd really like you to stay, even if we… You're still my best friend…"

She gasped when his arms encircled her tightly. She couldn't take it anymore. Hiding her face in his shoulder, her tears ran freely, wetting red fabric. Her little hands trembled while pressed against his shoulder blades.

She sniffed.

"I love you… And I'll always be by your side if you allow me to, just like I promised… No matter what, no matter how, we can always be together, even if I can't be your mate."

He nuzzled her hair and her neck, barely containing his own sobs. "And I'll always love you too, Kagome… None of this' your fault… It's all because of _me_ ; I'm the one who's messed up."

"Don't say that! If it was bad, it can't be your fault… You're the best guy I know… If you made sure there was no other way, you did everything you could… Don't blame yourself…"

Her hold tightened when she felt him trembling. "I want to be selfish… I want to be selfish so badly…" He murmured.

"What do you mean?"

"I'd like the Jewel was here to make a selfish wish… I'd ask to be human with you… I hate being a halfer more than fucking ever…"

"Don't say that," she pleaded with a renewed wave of sorrow, shaking him slightly. "I love you just like you are, why can't you do the same? S'okay, Inuyasha… _You_ are okay…"

"You don't know what you're saying… You wouldn't if you knew…"

"What on earth are you saying!" She broke the embrace and held his shoulders firmly. "I know you better than anyone, and I'd love you no matter what… If you think otherwise, you don't know me at all!"

He shook his head, his eyes hidden under his bangs, but didn't respond. Instead he rested his forehead on her right shoulder, where his mark still bore his power and scent.

After a few moments, she found the strength to speak again. "Are you staying?" Miroku had voiced that question during the welcome dinner, but he hadn't answered.

"Dunnow, maybe… Depends on how tough it gets…"

"To keep your word?"

"To _not_ keep it."

"Oh…" she leaned heavily against him in a loosen hug, feeling her heart was shattering all over again. But then huffed with a little smile. "Maybe we need a better closure."

"What d'ya mean?"

"I mean… You should kiss me goodbye, one last time, and whenever it gets difficult and we miss each other, we'll remember this kiss, and we'll be happy we still have each other. And tomorrow we'll move on, being friends."

Inuyasha was so grateful he could almost smile, but still didn't. First she hadn't asked his reasons, although Sesshomaru had said she would not. And now, she offered a decent farewell, not as that pathetic departure he had given her. He was lucky Kagome cared so much about him.

"One last time?"

She nodded with a soft smile, clear droplets flowing down her cry-flushed cheeks, and giggled when he kissed the tip of her nose.

Then her forehead.

Then her cheeks.

Finally he held her closely, their hands in their hair, and Kagome almost smiled against his lips when she realized he was crying too.

There was a whole life she had dreamt they'd have. A home, children, as many years together as her humanity permitted, finding him again in another lifetime… So much that wouldn't be. A life that wouldn't be lived, a thought he had many times, but she finally internalized herself.

There was so much she hadn't known.

As his fangs nipped her lower lip she was glad that despite they could not have everything, but at least could have this. Each other, forever, one way or another.

 _We won't be defeated… We'll be together, even if we're just friends… Life won't break us apart._

He really didn't want to break that kiss, and took as long as he could to memorize all over again her scent, her reactions, the rhythm of her heart, the flavor of her lips and the tears that found the corners of her mouth.

But he knew, he knew better than anyone, that he had to let go. He had to let her have a life that would make her happy. He had to save her again, from the future he represented.

And he said goodbye. Truly, properly. He parted the kiss and rested his forehead against hers, crying in silence while she sobbed frenetically, hardly breathing.

"No kiss," she murmured, "should have the right to be so heartbreaking and beautiful."

And for the first time in five years, he smiled.

* * *

 **A/N:**

 _Parallel (adjective)_

 _1\. Extending in the same direction, equidistant at all points, and never converging or diverging._

 _2\. Geometry. (of straight lines) lying in the same plane but never meeting no matter how far extended._


	16. I live, I die, I live again

**A/N:** Yes, the title _is_ a reference to the new Mad Max movie (a masterpiece, watch it if you haven't)

 **WARNING: CITRUS CONTENT AND FREAKISHLY LONG CHAPTER, BUT I JUST COULDN'T BRING MYSELF TO CUT IT.**

As usual, special thanks to _**Kim.**_ Not only for being the best beta ever, but also for regulating my sleeping patters and saving me from myself and my self-destructive obsession with writing sleep deprived until the brink of exhaustion, also for explaining how to make soy sauce.

* * *

 **I live, I die, I live again**

He was rude, coarse, one-track-minded, stubborn… but he was not stupid.

"Nah, ask the bastard."

Kagome started and, for some reason, felt far worse than it was logical.

"But I asked _you_."

"He's a better hunter."

Shippo's little clawed hand pressed against the hanyou's forehead. "Hey, dumb dog, are you sick or something? Since when do you admit Sesshomaru's better at _anything_?"

Shaking the kit off violently, the half-breed stood to leave the meadow. "I'm busy, that's all. That bastard's sure sitting on his lazy ass by the river or something."

The miko felt a knot forming in her throat as soon as her former intended walked away, but refused to cry. _It must be hard for him; I should give him some space_.

"Shippo-chan," she said with a bright smile that didn't quite fool the kit that knew her so well. "Should we go find Sesshomaru-sama? He might want to teach us how to hunt."

"M'kay," the foxling said with little enthusiasm, but soon shrugged it off.

He was well aware Kagome wanted to be with Inuyasha, and his suggestion to get him to impart a few survival lessons had done no good. Now she was miserable, the hanyou was gone for the day, and he was caught in a dilemma.

Being around the taiyoukai wasn't even close to be his favorite activity, but now he couldn't back away without revealing his true intentions.

So he would put on a strong face and be a full-fledged two tailed respectable kitsune and deal with the consequences of his actions.

Kagome, on the other hand, was torn inside, and the nervous tightness in her stomach that threatened to make her throw up didn't help.

The night before, she and Inuyasha had talked, said their farewells, and promised they would both move on.

And she always kept her promises.

She was surprised how fast a peaceful country life could pass. In hindsight, she hardly noticed the seasons slipping from her busy miko fingers. Actually, she was fairly sure her first month as a permanent resident of the feudal era had gone by more slowly than these last few years.

Now, as she approached the river, the growing anxiety that had piled up for the last three years was about to break free and make her lose her mind.

She had a question to ask the Lord of the West.

'Why did you kiss me?'

She had learnt why she had responded, but _his_ reasons could be vastly unalike.

 _Maybe_ inu-youkai said goodbye to their packmates with a kiss before a long journey. It wasn't like she knew much of his cultural background, since her little investigations were mostly centered on his person.

Taking a deep breath, she searched for his presence by the river bend, and located his pulsating aura close to the lake.

A wave of forced determination fueled the last moments of her march, but as soon as she stepped out of the trees, she found nothing.

After a second of confusion, she searched for his energy again, but the taiyoukai wasn't even close by.

"Well, looks like we're on our own," she said with a little smile to the kitsune, who tried his best to smile back. "What if we take the chance to fish our dinner?"

* * *

Her morning routine changed slightly ever since the day Sesshomaru disappeared without saying a word after bringing Inuyasha back.

She would wake up, stretch, dress, call Shippo for breakfast, and as soon as she left the hut, her eyes would dart to the skies.

She hoped for grey clouds, but that autumn had been unusually clear.

But one day, winter would arrive. The first snow would eventually fall, and with it, Sesshomaru would return.

He had to.

As on every other morning for the past two months, there was not even a dash of white on the landscape, from snow or silk. She sighed, deciding she would have to wait a bit longer to finally get a chance to talk about what had happened.

She knew he probably… _surely_ didn't want to mention _that_ , but she had vowed he _would_ hear her out. And she always kept her promises.

"Mornin'!" she chirped waving at Jinenji, who was, as always, working on the field since before sunrise.

Shippo jumped off her shoulder and trotted his way to Sango and Miroku's home, where the twins would probably be done with their breakfast now. After he promised to be on time for lunch, he disappeared, turning around a corner.

Kagome knocked on the doorframe of an old hut, where she was received by one of the villagers.

"How's your mother?" She inquired in a low voice once inside, careful not to wake up the old lady sleeping in the corner.

"Better now, thank you very much, Kagome-sama. The herbs have worked miraculously, and it's all thanks to you."

She let out a little awkward smile. "It was just tea for a sore throat, there's no need to fuss about it… well, here, mix it up with honey and let me know if there's any changes."

"Of course, milady Kagome. Thank you for your kindness."

She bobbed her head and left the home. Inwardly, she wondered if Kaede received the same kind of reverence while handling minor matters.

Shippo's exploding aura pulled her immediately from her thoughts, and she ran to him. Halfway there, she was met by a handful of kitsune, who shivered against her chest. "Th-they're back!"

She didn't even have to ask. The anxious twitch of his tails said the rest. "Go get Jinenji, Ah-Un, Jaken, and Inuyasha, and stay at the hut, even if you have to seal him down with your Jizo statue… Don't come out until I tell you."

The little youkai nodded diligently and rushed calling both half-breeds and the youkai loudly. Kagome walked hurriedly to the entrance of the village, where three figures made their way into view by the main road.

For a second, she was deeply grateful she never walked around without her bow anymore.

"Would you mind if I borrow your horse?" she asked one of the townsfolk, who nodded immediately, surrendering the reins of his beast.

She mounted and sprinted to meet the men before they reached the town, and, trying to steel her nerves, she eyed them from her superior height.

Yutaka smiled genially at her from under his straw hat, and her hackles rose. "Milady Kagome, your beauty is as dazzling as ever this fine morning!"

She cut to the chase. "You are not welcomed in our village, Yutaka." Eying the companions that flanked the monk, she spoke acidly again. "Nor anyone who associates with you."

"My, my, such a cold welcome after so many years! We are not here to disturb your villagers, Kagome-sama, fear not. We are actually here to protect them _and_ you."

She knew where this was going as soon as she recognized a green eyed nun by Yutaka's right. "By evicting any non-human inhabitants, I presume. Just like you did with the Panther Devas."

"I am very pleased to see we are on the same page and that you are well informed in the affairs of this region. Yes, milady Kagome, and it is a specific dictation from Lord Susumu of the East."

"And that would be…?"

"Why, the rightful landlord of this county, of course!"

"This is Inuyasha's forest, on the territory of Lord Sesshomaru. We don't recognize any other masters."

"Well, that is most terrible news, milady. Shall I take your declaration of war myself or would you rather send a personal messenger?"

"War?"

"But of course, milady! Anyone who fails to recognize Lord Susumu's birthright in his lands has committed an act of war. Treason is not taken lightly by milord."

Kagome tensed visibly, but her eyes continued sharpened. "Do you have any idea of what you are dealing with? We have taken down legions of demons, just the few of us. If what you want is war, you won't have it. It would be just the bloodshed of your lord's armies."

The monk chuckled, making Kagome feel sick. "Milady, I sincerely doubt a small group of villagers armed with farm tools could reduce milord's armies to nothing."

"You're forgetting we count with the two greatest demons alive in our ranks."

"Ah, of course, the ones you call the masters of this region. Why, yes, that would force us to join the fray, since we cannot permit these creatures harming our kin."

Kagome suppressed the need to growl, something she wasn't even sure could do until now. "If you honestly believe you can outdo the demons that defeated the Shikon no Tama's infamous wielder, I won't try to stop you."

Yutaka grinned amiably and nodded. "We will meet tomorrow during a formal audience to establish the particulars of your war declaration. Until then, milady."

As the trio turned to leave, Kagome noticed she was sweating.

"Oh, by the way," he whirled and touched the shoulder of the monk by his side. "What was the name of that young one we met the other day? The one who was bound to that lovely auburn creature… Kouta?"

"Kouga of the Wolves," answered the other male.

"Yes! Him, precisely!" he directed himself to Kagome with a careless movement of his hand. "I have come to understand he is your acquaintance. I am sure you would like to be informed of his demise."

Kagome paled. "WHAT DID YOU DO TO KOUGA-KUN AND AYAME-CHAN!?" Her voice roared from within her lungs with a fierceness that reminded her of a younger self.

"My, he was one tenacious rebel. His tribe made a declaration of war to the landlord of that county." He smiled sheepishly. "And you know how war is, milady. Casualties… occur."

She heeled her horse forward and stared at the grinning monk with eyes filled with unshed tears. "If you hurt them…"

"Oh, I did not hurt him, I killed him. And his… was mate the term? The pups as well, and the rest of the pack. A shame indeed, such a young litter… Why, your expression stuns me, milady! An act of war is met always purely with equal repercussions."

Kagome's chest froze, and she was not sure of what happened next.

She was barely aware that she jumped off from the horse and her hands went for the monk's neck with a wrath so animalistic she could hardly believe it herself.

But she never went through with her improvised attack. The back of the priest's hand collided with her face, his knuckles breaking her lower lip. She realized she would have been shouting foul words if her jaw didn't hurt so badly.

A wave of youki exploded behind her, and she heard Inuyasha's voice. Somehow, he had managed to slip his way past Shippo's restraint and the others, and now was sprinting, cursing up a storm.

His claws dug on the dirt when Yutaka managed to evade his tackle, scratching across the pavestones, as he gripped hard to stand and attack again, this time Tessaiga tight in his grasp.

The leader of the monks' eyes widened with surprise, and he smiled tauntingly. When Inuyasha's Wind Scar flared golden without a moment's hesitation and collided to a shimmering blue barrier, he laughed.

Dissecting and analyzing Inuyasha's demon half, he quickly came to a conclusion. "Inuyasha, I presume? I see, so your old watchdog returned, milady Kagome. Was his brother not satisfied with scraps? Is that the reason he's not here to fight for his precious miko's little pets?"

A vicious snarl curled the hanyou's lip, and his father's fang burned blood red. For a second, just a second there, he awaited for Kagome to stop him. But she was still curled on herself, crying in pain both physical and mental. His growl rang louder, and he turned to the three foreigners. "I won't go easy on you if you hurt wolf-breath and his pack. I'm gonna fucking kill you all."

"We are at war, halfer, I would expect even a dull creature like yourself could grasp that concept."

Inuyasha's pupils contracted and with a single swing of his sword red clashed against blue, hissing like water poured on burning metal. But nothing happened.

"Do you believe you can cut through a holy barrier just like you could cut through a demon's? A pathetic beast indeed if you don't know the extent of your own powers."

Inuyasha simply launched himself forward again, Tessaiga blazing crimson, but once more he couldn't break through the barrier.

When he darted for a third consecutive blow, however, Kagome's eyes widened for a fraction of moment as she felt holy power building up in the air, before she screamed loudly, without managing to form a word. He turned his attention to her as the sword descended, and when the female of the group noticed the breach in his guard, a pale hand clashed against him, through the barrier, wielding a long, slim sutra.

Inuyasha's body was ejected back several feet, and he crashed against the unforgiving ground, not breathing.

Scrambling to her feet, Kagome grabbed her friend's face and shook him stronger than intended, screaming his name, but his lifeless eyes remained the same.

Not a second later she heard the steps of the approaching trio, and without hesitation she shot a blind arrow at them. The projectile brushed the other monk's arm, crossing the barrier, and before she could renew her attack, Yutaka had her held by the hair, pulling her face to be eye level with his own. "Milady Kagome," he murmured. "I will not stop you from killing your beloved beasts. _If you honestly believe_ your watchdogs can outdo the greatest holy men this continent has ever seen, you will have your war." He released her squirming form and patted her shoulder, ignoring the venomous words that were spilling now from her blooded mouth. "We will return at sunrise to set the formalities."

She didn't waste another second, and she knelt by the hanyou, pressing her ear to his chest, and let out a whine of relief when she heard a slow heartbeat.

It had all been so fast. Only a few moments, and the three holy men were gone. Just now the few villagers that had seen the whole thing were approaching, and Miroku ran behind them as soon as he heard the shouts of warning.

"Kagome-sama, you're bleeding! What happened!?"

"Inuyasha… Kouga-kun… Ayame-chan… Their children… Oh, oh God, why…"

The houshi's eyes widened in shock.

"What happened to Inuyasha!?" She tried to find the cohesion to talk, while her fingers mechanically went to remove the terrible binding from his chest, but Miroku's firm hand held her wrist in place. "No, we can't just take it off, it could kill him."

Stuttering, she let out a breath. "I don't know what to do."

He pressed his hand to his friend's forehead, confirming he was suddenly burning with fever. "Come, let's take him to the river, immediately. You can explain what happened there."

The arrival of Jinenji, disobeying her explicit orders, was welcomed. Carrying the hanyou in his massive hands, they quickly arrived by the river, followed closely by Shippo, Rin, and Sango. Ah-Un and Jaken had been left behind to look after the younger ones.

In a moment, Kagome ripped the sleeve of her white kosode, soaking it into the stream and pressing it against her hanyou's forehead. Almost a minute later, she realized it would be useless.

"I have to put cold cloths under his arms, help me take his haori off."

Shippo nodded and immediately moved to grab red fabric, but hissed in pain and jumped away, startling the miko. "The spell is too strong, I can't touch his clothes at all!" The kit winced.

Wondering why had Jinenji managed to hold him all the way to the river, she suddenly realized the larger hanyou's hand were covered in serious burn marks, and she choked back a sob.

She was helped by Miroku to take off the haori, and the sutra, feeling the target of its cursed spell gone, vanished in a flick of bluish fire.

"Jinenji, take off his undergarment."

Obediently and carefully, one hanyou arranged the other, causing the miko to pale.

A dark purplish bruise, far larger than the sutra that previously clung to him as a parasite, covered his sternum. Dark blood red veins extending the venom across his body.

"Oh, God… I don't know how to heal this…"

She could literally see the infamous purification that pumped across his body with every weak heartbeat. A sniff and a touch of her fingertip confirmed her worse fears. The tissue was compromised, most probably rotting away his flesh.

Her brain screamed to surgically remove it, but the beating darkened blood that traveled his chest, right over his heart and lungs, didn't seem too eager to back away, source removed and all.

"I… I don't know what to do…" she breathed, and Miroku cringed at the sight, trying his best to think of a solution to a problem he never knew existed before.

The crashing of ceramic and screaming brought her attention back to the village. She didn't know it, but a fight was starting, and the sounds of fury rippled in the early evening.

They all did their best to remain focused on the task at hand.

After being instructed by the priest, Jinenji got the dog half demon into the river. As he held him in his monstrous hands, the cool autumn water washed his body, somewhat causing his temperature to decrease.

Clenched teeth, Inuyasha opened his eyes, and Jinenji gasped, pulling him out of the stream. Kagome knelt beside him, using the red haori he had been stripped of, to pillow his head.

"Inuyasha, I need you to tell me how you feel," voiced the monk, worriedly.

A pained growl. "Take… a fucking wild guess, Miroku…"

His friend emitted a dry chuckle. "I need you to be specific."

Slowly, and ignoring Kagome's complaints, he sat up straight, panting. "I… I feel like crap… Like my legs broke."

"What about your chest?" Hurried the miko.

"What about it?"

"Do you feel anything… unusual?"

Shifting slowly, and then moving his hand to press it against his sternum, Inuyasha's expression turned darkly distressed.

"Wait! You're hurting yourself!" She screamed.

His hand came to the front of his face, and he realized his claws were covered in blood. _His_ blood. "I can't f-feel anything… waist up… here in m-my chest. But my back is burning." He suppressed the need to growl when a sniff indicated the redness smelled of rotting flesh. "I'm fucking decomposing!"

"Inuyasha, please, don't exert yourself. You were knocked out just a moment ago," his friend warned.

"Just give a minute… I've just gotta rest and…"

Before he could even finish the sentence, his head felt dizzy, and he groaned, falling back, caught by Kagome and gently placed on the improvised pillow once more.

After she made sure his temperature had decreased, she was brought back down to earth.

"Kagome-chan, you need to tell us what happened," Sango said with her most calmed tone.

"It was three of those monks and priestesses…" she began with barely enough volume. "They killed two of the Panther Devas and most of their tribe… They said… He said he killed Kouga-kun's pack… All of them…"

They all visibly felt horrified.

"That can't be true!" Shippo squealed, when he finally seemed to notice the blood on her face. "THEY ATTACKED YOU!"

He had barely finished roaring the words when he scrambled to his little feet to chase down the ones who had dared to lay a hand on her, but her arms tightly holding his minute frame stopped him. "No! Please, don't go! These aren't just lizard youkai! They could purify you! They almost killed Inuyasha!"

"Kagome, you have to call Sesshomaru! Those bastards won't take him down; you know he can deal with them!"

"No, not with them! It's too dangerous! If what he said is true… oh God, oh…"

"Who!? Who is he!?" Pressed the taijiya.

"Yutaka, Yutaka's the name of their leader; he's been here twice now. Sesshomaru-sama told them not to come back, but… but he came… He says anyone not human has to leave the region by orders of the landlord, or there will be war… God, if Kouga-kun and Ayame-chan are really dead…"

She felt the need to puke, but held it back.

"Kohaku said there are rumors of some holy men that come from the continent and have been hunting down most minor youkai," confessed the demon slayer. "Kagome-chan, listen up. Ah-Un and I are gonna go check on Kouga-kun and his pack; I'll be back little after noon. You and Miroku talk with the headman and the elders. This is our home. We'll fight for it if we have to."

She could hardly breathe, and had to concentrate really hard on her friend's voice to understand what she was saying. Holding tightly the body of the fox against hers, she managed to nod.

* * *

Kagome tried very hard to remember to breathe while she explained the situation to Rikichi, now deemed headman, with Miroku checking on Inuyasha every now and then.

When she was done, the man's fists were clenched around the hilt of the sword he always carried. "Hunting down innocents… they are despicable," he said in a very low voice, conscious of the hanyou resting in the neighboring room.

Miroku's weary eyes remained closed, meditating the best approach of the terrible situation.

"They can't get away with it… We can't let them," the miko voiced.

"Of course we won't!" countered the kit with a surge of fury.

The villager shook his head emphatically and finally voiced his thoughts. "Kagome-sama, we are talking men of faith here… just like you… do you believe you could not take down Inuyasha-sama if you wished? That's what monks and priestesses _do_ … If he falls, we'll be simple humans against humans, and they surpass us in weaponry, swordsmanship, strategy, preparations… not to mention numbers. If Sesshomaru-sama was here, we might stand a chance, but…" through clenched teeth, he trailed off.

She shivered. Rikichi was pragmatic, rough around the edges, but definitely smart. And she knew he was right. They all did.

"Inuyasha will fight, not even I could stop him," she said in a little voice.

"You can subjugate him to oblige. I'm not happy about it, but if it came to it…" the monk's voice was cut off by Shippo's.

"He'll fight it… He'll get into a battle if he wants to… We have to fight for ourselves, and you have to convince him not to get in the middle, Kagome."

The lump in her throat threatened to shed tears, but she resisted. "I'll try."

"Let's don't get ahead of ourselves," the houshi began anew. "We have not yet decided what to do."

Rikichi's hand cupped his chin thoughtfully. "We'll have to vote."

* * *

When the sun made it high on the sky and the shadows became simple spots under their feet, Sango returned.

Almost as soon as Kagome realized Ah-Un's youki was unusually edgy, she heard a tree falling to the ground and the dragon's howl of pain as it forcefully came down to earth.

Both Miroku and she ran to it, and they screamed the taijiya's name when they saw her unconscious and bleeding, under the weight of the injured lizard, that had stumbled into the village, already lifeless.

* * *

"They have fought for us before!" A friendly known voice rang from the multitude as the red light of sunset bathed the growingly anxious tumult.

"You were not there fifty-eight years ago! Inuyasha wrought havoc like no other demon before…" Kagome bit her lip not to go out and yell at the elder woman whose sister she had tended to that very morning. "Merciless times like that only resumed after _she_ came!" Her bony finger pointed directly at the monk's hut, considerably further away, where they knew the miko was at.

"Kaede-sama's spirit has left us…"

"We're cursed by Naraku again!"

"You can't take the women and children to war!"

"War? You mean a massacre!"

The knot of pledges and screams only caused for Kagome's pounding temples to press harder.

Jinenji's mortar promptly provided her with all she needed to ease the hanyou's ever returning fever and the demon slayer's pain caused by her broken arm, and the weakness that came from losing so much blood out of her open fracture.

"Sango-chan, don't you dare to fall asleep on me. Stay awake, tell me what happened in Koga-kun's caves."

Swallowing dryly, she tried to connect the dots, but couldn't articulate a phrase for a second.

 _This is bad_.

Miroku's eyes were clouded with worried thoughts, but he managed to speak. "We should let her rest and be ready to burn Ah-Un's corpse. They were brave steeds to the end and deserve proper funerary honors."

Biting down her lip, she glanced at the hanyou that remained motionless. "Keep an eye on them, I'll go take care of that,"

Not wasting a second, she went outside, where the village's headman was hardly containing the enraged crowd.

Her presence there only exacerbated it all. Her wet eyes betrayed the state of the hanyou and the taijiya, and the multitude voiced the proof of their uncertainties confirmed.

If Inuyasha and Sango couldn't fight, or worse, they would not stand a chance against a trained army. When their loyalty to the warriors and the lives of their families were on the balance, there wasn't really much of a choice.

Kagome knew she couldn't blame them, but her fist clenched in fury. How dare destiny keep on trying to hurt the ones she loved?

* * *

While dark smoke went up to the skies, offering Ah-Un's soul to the heavens, Sango opened her eyes back in the hut.

The villagers had insisted upon throwing the dragon's remains into the Bone Eaters Well, but she knew the fantastical steed deserved better than disappearing from earth into the abyss of time.

The skies were dark blue and the moon shone in all its crescent glory. When she returned to the monk's home, she managed to contain a gasp of relief to see her bruised friend awake again.

"I'm not saying we should give up, my dearest Sango," Miroku said careful not to wake the sleeping hanyou. "But it is certain neither Inuyasha or you can fight a legion in your current state, and while Kagome-sama's combat expertise and my own could be proven helpful, we will hardly eradicate an army without the Wind Scar or your Hiraikotsu."

The taijiya yielded as she felt his hand tighten around hers. "The demon slayer village could be a good place to wait. Kohaku and Kirara spend most of their time there to rebuild. It would be safe." Her eyes met her sister's, communicating it all without words.

Kagome nodded, defeated. Everything was going wrong, and for the last two hours Inuyasha hadn't shown a single sign of consciousness. "I'll stay to talk to those monsters in the morning, to tell them to leave the rest of you alone."

The married couple looked at each other, sharing a thought wordlessly. "We actually were thinking of going with you," confessed the monk.

"No, you can't. For starters Sango can't travel, not to mention your family lives here, you _belong_ here. Plus, when we are gone, who's gonna make sure everything's ok here? They could lash back against the villagers for sheltering demons… No, you have to stay to take care of them, _and_ the Well."

Miroku couldn't argue with that. It was crucial the time portal was protected at any cost, or else their reality could never come to be. "I understand. We will remain here, but make sure to send word with Kohaku of Inuyasha's state as soon as possible."

* * *

Miroku spoke in almost a whisper. "She didn't find anyone at Kouga-sama's caves. She says it was like no one ever lived there."

Kagome swallowed dryly. "Who attacked them?"

"A priest and some ascetics that were patrolling and felt Ah-Un's aura. By the time she noticed them, they had already shot a holy arrow at them."

"Rin's at my house, you should go check on her… I'm sure Ah-Un's death must have been harder for her than she's showing. I'll stay here to keep an eye on these two."

Despite what he expected, once he entered his friend's hut she found Rin comforting a heartbroken little toad.

* * *

Preparations were quickly made, and Kagome cried silently almost the entire time. Shippo, who had been entrusted with looking after the unconscious hanyou by her side, tried his best to cheer her up whenever she entered the hut to check on Inuyasha. But she smiled absentmindedly, and continued with the little packing she had to do. Once she was done it was tremendously late, but she couldn't manage to eat, leave alone sleep.

A cart was provided to transport them, and when dawn broke, they had managed to place Inuyasha on it, next to Ah-Un's ashes that were kept in an urn.

Every non-human member of their village was forced to wait in the security of the shrine as Kagome, Rikichi, and Miroku waited for the despised holy men to show up.

Kagome's hold around her bow tightened slightly when the silhouettes approached.

Raising his right hand in warning, a gesture that managed to stick around despite time and circumstances, Miroku indicated that the traveling priests were to stop where they were.

"We are here to set your declaration of war, your Excellency. You would surely allow us a roof over our heads while we prepare the appropriate documents?"

"There is no need. Kagome-sama's taking every non-human inhabitant of this village away."

Grinning slyly, Yutaka shook his head. "I am afraid we cannot permit the Shikon Miko to wander about with demons. She shall remain here, were the Shiroari Temple can protect her."

Kagome's eyes narrowed. "I _won't_ leave any of them alone. Especially not Inuyasha, considering the state you left him in."

"Then there will be war," the nun stated flatly.

Rikichi's hand tightened around the hilt of his sword. "You can't separate her from the kitsune, she is the only one in charge his caring."

"A two tailed kit can certainly provide for himself. The Shikon Miko will not go anywhere the Shiroari Temple can't watch."

She was about to yell a pledge of compassion, knowing the only other option to get them leaving the village alone would be going with the disgusting trio. But suddenly she felt an idea that blazed in her mind. "I'm not a miko anymore, not _truly_. I'm tainted." Tugging at the collar of her kosode she revealed the set of white dots that was Inuyasha's mark. "I was promised to a half-demon, his power keeps me young and healthy, meaning our energies are mixed. I'm not entirely human anymore, am I?"

The twist in the leader's smile in front of them told her she had won this round. "True indeed, milady Kagome. Do you realize you will be treated like a half-breed by the holy men of the Shiroari Temple until you manage to erase that hideous flaw on your skin and soul?"

Clenching her teeth not to initiate an imminent war, she nodded curtly.

"We expect you to be honorable folk. If we discover you still host beasts in this place, not a single villager's life will be spared." He smiled amiably. "Have yourselves a beautiful day!"

As their paces' sound disappeared away, she started when Miroku's hand pressed firmly on her shoulder. "We will find a way to bring you all back home, even if it means going to war. The time you have given us will help prepare troops or elaborate a plan. Focus your strength on resting and assisting Inuyasha in his recovery. We will remain in contact."

Kagome bit down hard on her lower lip. "This… this is just so unfair…"

Feeling his arms hugging her tightly in a filial way, she sobbed. "I know, Kagome-sama… war is never fair…"

* * *

Jinenji pulled the cart slowly, evading boulders on the road. Kagome carefully placed the back of Inuyasha's head on her chest to try to give him water. Wetting his lips usually caused for him to react and swallow, but not this time.

"C'mon you pig head, drink… You need it…" When there was still no response, she shook him slightly.

Not opening his eyes, the hanyou took a small breath through his mouth, and after Kagome announced she'd be giving him water, she carefully poured the liquid.

As soon as he swallowed, he drifted into unconsciousness again.

Kagome pulled the blanket that covered her friend closer around his body, still worried over the fact that the fire rat robe hadn't regenerated as it usually would.

She didn't get the chance to think more of it, since Kohaku's voice greeting them from the skies announced they were at the taijiya territory.

When they were atop of the hill, Kohaku descended from Kirara and ran by their side. "I got sister's message. Come, there's a place ready for him."

The town was inhabited by about twenty people, mostly humans, and she was pleased to see life blooming again in a place so many graves were once dug.

Kagome nodded at his statement and, with Jaken and Shippo close on her heels carrying bags, and Jinenji holding the limp hanyou in his hands, they entered a rather large and lordly house, where a large futon awaited for Inuyasha.

Only once the hybrid was placed to rest, she noticed Kohaku's appearance. She was now twenty three, but since Inuyasha had marked her when eighteen, she now looked younger than the nineteen year old boy by her side.

She realized how long his hair now was, and how most of his freckles were gone. He was tall, his voice absolutely different, his yukata was dark blue and his black hakama made him look even more like a man than before.

She hadn't been paying attention to how quickly the children were growing. She had missed a lot, even though she had been right there.

For a second, a fleeting thought came to her mind. 'I should live in the present more.'

"Kagome-sama," the boy's voice pulled her from her thoughts. "Come, I'll show the rest of you to your rooms… Kirara, stay here with him, ok?"

The nekomata purred in agreement, and the rest of the group followed the taijiya.

"I never imagined I would someday be hosted at the youkai slayer village…" mumbled Jaken as he explored the small -but far too large for him- room that he had been assigned.

Kohaku grinned. "Make yourselves at home."

Kagome was inwardly disappointed that Shippo and she had been given separate rooms… but she knew her little friend was growing up, just like Kohaku, and she would have to deal with it.

"I'll watch after Inuyasha-sama tonight. You rest. The dining room is on the east wing, we'll eat after sunset."

* * *

"Shippo, would you go to Michi-san to buy milk?"

The kit nodded and counted coins before disappearing in the hallway. It had been two days ever since their arrival, but Inuyasha hadn't had water since the previous night.

Worried sick, she wondered if a liquid with more substance would do the trick. She had to try, or else her friend would die of dehydration before the spell that kept on slowly rotting his flesh terminated him.

Shippo's voice echoing in the house made her turn her face to the sound. "Brrr, dang early snow!"

 _Snow_.

"Jaken!" The toad immediately appeared tripping at Inuyasha's door. "Watch after him, I'll be right back!"

She didn't wait for his response. She ran outside, forgetting the sandals by the door, and letting her tabi socks get wet in the white carpet that covered the village.

She had spent the last few days locked in the house, attentive to Inuyasha's every breath, so she hadn't seen the grey clouds hovering closer from the north, or felt the cold biting down outside.

She searched the skies frenetically, looking for white silk and silver hair contrasting with the clouds… but saw nothing.

She didn't realize she had started crying.

Sobbing pathetically, she wiped the tears away with the heel of her hands. "Dammit, Sesshomaru, it's the first snow, where _are_ you?"

She sighed and almost screamed when an armored chest appeared out of nowhere in front of her.

"ARE YOU CRAZY? YOU'RE GONNA GIVE ME A HEART ATTACK!"

"I apologize."

Suddenly an incontrollable giggle bubbled from her, and she found herself hugging him tightly once more, although this time her head rested on cold, hard metal. "Why did you leave?" She murmured.

"There was no need for me to stay."

Shaking slightly, she held him closer. "Then why are you back now?"

"You called for me."

She gasped and looked at his impassive face, and realized this time he had not responded to her touch in the slightest. So she stepped back. "You were waiting for me to call you?"

He nodded. "What do you require?"

The coldness in his voice cut deep inside of her. "I… Inuyasha's dying."

Lazily his eyes went to the house. "I see. Do you want me to save his life?"

Holding back the need to cry again, she took a deep breath. "I don't know how to heal him. He was attacked by Yutaka. He came back to the village… Ah-Un is dead."

Turning his head slowly to where the dragon's remains had been buried under a tree, he asked again. "Do you want me to save his life?"

She understood whatever it had been that caused him to kiss her three years ago, it wasn't there anymore. The tears fell down her cheeks, and mentally she scolded herself for not focusing on what was really important. "Yes, please."

"Very well."

* * *

The grey morning sky was velvety and the air was cold. Kagome knew the thin air at such altitude should have her short of breath, but she felt fine… At least as fine as she could feel.

The magnificent dog strode just under the clouds, so close she could touch them just by raising her hand.

Secure with his head on her lap, the hanyou that battled with death continued to not respond to anything, not even the frozen wind.

She shivered, and buried herself deeper in Sesshomaru's fur.

"I wish you'd tell me where we are going," she muttered to herself.

A low growl indicated nothing, and she sighed. Her hand absentmindedly caressed his thick white coat. "I'd also like to know why you're so mad at me."

This time, a massive red eye glared at her over his shoulder, but her saddened expression didn't flicker. "I'd wish we could talk, but… circumstances aren't the best right now, are they? When you and Inuyasha came back… Well, the next day you just left… I wanted to ask you about…"

For the first time in her life, she heard a deep, low voice vibrate from within his bestial throat. "Do not speak of it."

She started, not as surprised over the fact that he _could_ talk in his true form, but mostly of how dryly he forbid _that_ topic.

He heard her sniff and smelled her tears, and had to suppress an annoyed growl.

"See? You _are_ mad at me…" When he landed she gasped. Nothing but thick mist could be seen around. "Where are we?"

He didn't answer. Instead he transformed back into his humanoid form, and when the beam of light and youki disappeared, she was sitting in the middle of his long trail of fur, Inuyasha still resting on her lap.

Her head jerked up in surprise. A raging demonic energy, greater than she had ever felt, roared all around them. Not even Naraku's power had flared so gloriously or ferociously.

"Do not fear," Sesshomaru's voice calmed her, and she managed a shaking nod.

From between the mist, a slowly approaching figure made its way. When she emerged and smiled, Kagome found she could hardly breathe.

"Sesshomaru… I wonder, why would you come visit your mother," her pale eyes fixed on the sleeping hanyou "…and bring with you this insult of a creature?"

 _His… mother?_

"Miko." His voice made her jump in surprise. "Explain your predicament."

She swallowed and timidly looked up to the slender demoness that stood a few steps away. Only Sesshomaru's pelt around her gave her courage to talk. "I… I'm Kagome… I'm the Shikon Miko… This here is…" She gulped. "This is Inuyasha, Sesshomaru-sama's half-brother."

"I know this crossbreed by name and blood. He is the pitiful result of my mate's indiscretions…" Kagome's breath caught in her throat. "I can only assume you have brought him to me to finish his life and therefore regain my honor and my deceased mate's."

The priestess' eyes looked up to the taiyoukai desperately looking for support, but found him as aloof as always. "He… he's dying… and I asked Sesshomaru-sama's help to save him."

"Oh? And my son has seen fit to answer your pledge by bringing you to _my_ presence when I have the first right to take his life?"

"I… I really don't understand either…"

"Sesshomaru, dear. You have brought me this mutt and his mate as a gift?" He didn't answer and her delicate mouth curved in a smile once more. "How sweet of you to think of your mother's name and honor, even after two centuries of scandal."

Kagome's hands held the hanyou tightly against her chest. "You won't hurt him!" She voiced far more bravely than she felt.

Before a second passed, the demoness' nose had bumped hers, and she almost screamed in horror. "How will a sweet little treat like you stop me from taking what is mine?"

"You will not touch them."

Kagome's eyes darted at Sesshomaru, who remained immobile, but whose gaze had come to rest over the females.

"Oh, my, would you defy my right? For this mutt of a child that has brought nothing but shame to the West?"

"I would not."

Standing again to her full height, a red claw came to rest over her purplish pink lips. "So, it _is_ the girl, just like I suspected… You certainly are like your father in the most surprising ways." The priestess gasped. "You have not only taken responsibility over yet a new human female, but also over another's marked one. Do you never take a moment to consider the consequences of your actions?"

As his eyes narrowed warningly, the little miko found her voice again. "You're wrong! Sesshomaru-sama only takes care of me because I'm a part of Inuyasha's pack."

Redirecting her attention, the demoness giggled mockingly. "So? This mongrel is not Sesshomaru's responsibility. And he _certainly_ has no duty to his half-brother's pack."

Kagome gasped and turned to him. "Is that true? Then why did you…?"

"This Sesshomaru has claimed her and you will not dishonor your packmate."

"Oh, that makes the hybrid ours too, and therefore takes away my privilege to end his existence, is that correct? And now I am bound by honor to attend to this little girl's need to save her intended mate."

"You will act as our laws dictate," he answered dangerously.

With a playful smile, she beckoned two guards who waited for orders behind her, in the mist. They came closer, bringing with them a bamboo stretcher to carry Inuyasha, which indicated Kagome she had never intended to actually harm her friend and had known their predicament since before they even spoke. "To my son's chambers."

The miko reluctantly let go, but couldn't follow the youkai soldiers, who disappeared in the blink of an eye.

As the Lady of the West called with a movement of her hand, the mist began to dissipate. Kagome gasped when she realized they were in the courtyard of the most beautiful palace she had ever seen, and almost tripped when she noticed they were _floating_ above the clouds. "Where are we?" she murmured once she reached Sesshomaru's side.

"This is the Western Fortress."

" _This_ is your house? Wow… it must be bigger than my whole neighborhood…"

He shrugged as they climbed up a set of stairs and entered a large pavilion, only to keep on going up another set of stairs. After three flights, they entered a wing, crossed a panel and found Inuyasha resting on a thick futon. Two maidens lowered their heads and walked away. Her friend's clothes had been replaced by a simple white cotton yukata, and she felt strange looking at him so differently dressed.

"Say, human, what caused this injury?" Asked the demoness as she knelt by the bed and inspected the hanyou's chest, wrinkling her nose at the rotting smell. Kagome quickly related the attack of the houshi and all the symptoms her friend had suffered ever since the last few days.

The woman nodded, extracted a dagger from her left sleeve, and stabbed the hanyou's heart.

For a moment Kagome stared at the blood pouring from Inuyasha's chest in confusion, hearing the whistle the air made while leaving his lungs, his lifeless expression, all with silent expectation.

When she realized what she had just _done_ , the room flared in holy power, like it had caught on fire. Sesshomaru managed to grab her by the shoulders as she roared a scream of raw horror, fighting to launch herself at her or her friend's corpse.

Unsheathing the blade from the body, cleaning the blood and hiding it away in her sleeve, the lady spoke. "My, what an insufferable creature you have brought to my house, Sesshomaru, dear. Could you shut her up, please? Else I will go deaf."

"Miko," he called, getting no answer but a renewed wave of yells and kicking. "Kagome, _listen to me_." She was panting and turned to him, tears falling, heart racing. "Look."

The Western Lady giggled playfully at the scene, then pulled a heavy necklace over her head and placed it around the hanyou's neck. The enormous pearls clicked together and the blue gem in the middle of the jewel shone brightly. Kagome's breath caught when Inuyasha's face scrunched and he weakly fluttered his eyes open.

"Wh-what the…?" Taking in a sharp breath she launched herself forward, collapsing on his now perfectly healed chest, crying out desperately without managing to form a single word. "Kagome? What is it with you now, wench?"

Turning lazily at her son, the Western Lady spoke aloud. "It really surprises me, Sesshomaru, that you have come to bother me with such a petty matter that you could have quickly solved with Tenseiga's help." She cocked her head with a playful smile. "Or perhaps you hoped I would come up with a solution that did not involve the boy's death?" When his eyes narrowed but his mouth didn't answer, her smile widened. "I wonder if it was for his sake… or _hers_ … That was quite a tantrum she threw."

* * *

Kagome's silk kimono dragged behind her as she explored the castle.

Ever since the morning, when Inuyasha was killed and brought back to life, the Lady had insisted upon letting him rest. She couldn't visit until the morning, when he would be served breakfast. Although his body was good as new, his soul was exhausted, and several days of lying down were necessary.

Despite the fact that she should be doing the same, that night she simply couldn't sleep. For starters she felt odd in someone else's clothes, but Sesshomaru's mother had insisted she couldn't walk around her castle in such undignified garments. She was sent to bathe and provided with the finest silk she had ever seen.

She looked like a doll, and was fairly certain the demoness had purposely made her feel awkward.

Kagome sighed and sat on the verge of the courtyard, looking down at the clouds and the hills below them, with her feet hanging playfully.

A strong breeze had her shivering in a minute.

"Go inside."

His deep voice made her start and almost slip down into the abyss, but she regained balance and looked back at him. "Hey, don't sneak up on me like that!"

"Go inside," he repeated, more gently this time.

She stood and frowned at him. "I heard you the first time! I… I can't sleep, so I'm looking around." She shivered again, and his steel eyes softened minutely.

"The night air will sicken you. You should not wander about."

She hugged herself. "I'm fine, don't worry…" She bit her lower lip, and looked at him with pledging eyes, but said nothing for a moment. Finally, she found her voice. "Thank you… I mean, for saving him."

"I did nothing."

"You did _everything_ … Your mom told me she killed him because if his body kept on rotting you'd probably not be able to resurrect him. Neither of you. She said it was best to make sure…"

"Hnn."

"She had those guards with the stretcher waiting. She never considered hurting us, did she?"

"His decomposing flesh and the saint energy could be scented a mile away."

She walked a few steps by a peony bush, brushing pink petals that were the same shade as her kimono with the tip of her fingers. "So you're not sure but guess so, same as me. That's a relief…" She said with a little smile. "I think I kinda like your mom."

"Hnn." He whirled and paced away. Kagome was left mute, shocked, thinking they had been doing so well, on the verge of tears.

"Y-you're leavin'?"

He came to a stop and looked at her over his shoulder, golden eyes flashing in the moonlight. Not answering.

Her feet had a life of themselves, and she moved very slowly by his side, suddenly finding it hard to breathe. Her fingers knotted and entwined inside her sleeves, trying to find a way out for her anxiety. _Should have thought of something to say before coming over here!_

She looked up at him shyly, only to find him quirking an eyebrow, causing her eyes to dart back down and her face to flush. She hadn't realized she had stepped so darned close!

"Um… Thank you also for calming me down earlier… I really snapped, didn't I?" She was fairly certain he was growling very low. "Y-you hadn't ever called me by my name before… Thanks about that too."

He emitted a nonchalant hum, and her eyes kept on fighting to look anywhere but his face. That was when she noticed the vicious burn marks on his palms.

She gasped, her hands immediately darting to his, carefully pulling his palms up for her to see. "What happened to you!? This isn't normal!"

He slowly and icily extracted his hands from her grasp, backing away to a considerable distance. "This Sesshomaru is fine."

"No you're _not_! Those are some terrible burns! What could actually…?" She gasped and his eyes narrowed. Her gaze dropped, and she cried. "I'm so sorry, I didn't even realize I hurt you."

His chin lifted. "Your kind cannot harm me."

Her chest froze, and her lip trembled. She sobbed for a second, then cleaned the tears with the silk of her sleeve. "Is that why you hate me so much?" His lids widened slightly, but remained silent.

The night wind blew, carrying the scent of rain. Kagome wanted to leave, but she wanted to stay more. She always did that, always gave more silent opportunities to the ones that hurt her, waiting, hoping things would change, hoping her faith was not misplaced.

Her lips contorted with sorrow, and she decided she would not spend any more time waiting.

"This Sesshomaru does not hate you," he said softly, almost purring, just when she was about to leave once and for all.

"Then why did you leave again…?" She gave a tiny step closer instead of further, but her eyes locked on his armored chest.

"I cannot remain by your side. Especially not after what I did."

"… Why?"

"It would not have been proper."

"I-I don't understand."

The soft exhalation through his nose almost sounded like a sigh. His scarred hand moved to cup her cheek and caress her lip that was still injured from the time Yutaka hit her. "You are to mate Inuyasha…"

She frowned. "I'm not. You know that."

"Yes, you are. It could not be any other way." His caress made her shiver, and goosebumps tingled on her skin. "That is the reason I brought him back to you. He is the one you need."

She pressed into his touch, hearing him but hardly listening. She inched closer, her hands resting on black metal. Finally, his words sunk in. "It's been five years… What I need is… I need…" She looked up at him. "I need you to kiss me."

He drew in a deep, slow breath, savoring her scent, as poisonous and tempting as always. "You do not know what you ask of me."

"Maybe, but I know what I want…"

Without realizing it, his hand was on the curve of her back, pulling her closer, as his other palm tilted her head upwards, her sweet breath tickling on his skin. "What do you want?"

"You."

He wanted to kiss her. He wanted to kiss her so badly his whole body ached and begged for the touch of her lips again. Her taste still lingered after so many years, and he wanted to make sure it was not his imagination. "I cannot do that to you… What you wish, I cannot give."

She couldn't take it anymore. She stretched on her tip-toes and placed her mouth on his, softly, carefully, in a fleeting kiss, remaining close after she backed away. "Why?" she murmured.

"Our laws forbid it. The Western Lord cannot mate a human." He inclined his head, pressing soft kisses to her lips while speaking.

"But do you want to mate me?"

His hands tightened in her silk and hair, demanding closer contact. "More than I have wanted anything. I would take no other."

Her tongue brushed his, and the scent of her arousal intoxicated his senses. "And I want to mate you, too."

His hand wandered to her hip and the other tangled in her hair, offering and searching. "Lies. You wish to mate my brother."

"I only have one life, and I'll live it. I want you, _I_ _love you_." Her arms circled his neck and pulled him closer, her knee traveling up and brushing his leg. He tasted her delicious blood from the newly opened injury in her mouth. "Fate already took Inuyasha away from me. Now I want to belong to you. I won't lose you because I'm too busy crying about all the things that didn't happen."

"But if he could mate you…" he breathed against the skin of her neck, causing a jolt of excitement to travel down her belly.

"And if my father hadn't died, and if I hadn't moved to the shrine, if I hadn't fallen down the Well, if I hadn't released him from the Tree, if I had died in battle, if you still hated humans…" She breathed heavily against his lips, her voice husky in the most seductive way. "I'm here now, you're here now… I've had my fair share of past and future… I want my present, I want _my life_."

He growled or groaned, she wasn't sure. "Still, you could not be my mate. The clans and the other Cardinal Lords would never recognize your position."

"I don't care about them. Plus, I have experience in 'not being a mate'…"

He traced her now uncovered collarbone with his tongue. "Any children we had would be illegitimate, hunted down to weaken me, and my firstborn could not be my heir. An heirless empire would be the victim of war and turmoil."

She moaned with her hands wound in his silver hair. "Any children we had would be _ours_. We'll defend them… Wars… wars we'll fight them together."

He was out of excuses. He hauled her into his arms, careful not to hurt her with his armor, and in a flash of youki they were enveloped in light, crossing the skies and the clouds, away from the celestial palace, away from everyone and everything.

When she parted the kiss to breathe she was being lowered down on the thick spiral of fur that cascaded from around his shoulder, the wet fallen autumn leaves crunching under her weight.

"This outfit," he said breathily.

"What about it?" she murmured self-consciously.

"It is hideous." He pulled at the indigo obi, easily undoing it.

She frowned. "There's no need to be mean about it, you know…"

"You belong in the clothes of a warrior, of a priestess, of a traveler. You are more than a banal princess." He kissed her bleeding lip with careful delicacy, and she felt beautiful, feeling his hands travel her body with reverence.

As she began to untie his sash, his hand stopped her by taking her wrist. "Are you sure this is what you want?" She nodded and kept pulling on the binding. "I could harm you."

"You won't," she sighed and undid the knots of his armor, being helped by him to pull the heavy bone pieces away.

His tongue traced her neck and went down to her left shoulder. He nuzzled her hair.

She swallowed. "You cannot mate me, but can you mark me?"

His fangs scrapped on pristine white skin. "I can."

She moaned, but shook her head. "Don't do it."

He froze and pulled away, looking into her eyes intensely, and she knew she had hurt him. _So this is how things are._

She caressed his cheek, carefully evading his stripes. "I want to feel the difference. Mark me the next time."

He let out the breath he had been holding. "The next time…" He repeated huskily against her throat, baring her chest of the first layer of pink silk.

She whimpered, and when he stopped again, fearing her rejection, she blushed even more darkly. "I've never been naked with a man before…" He smiled. An honest smile that robbed her of breath, and he kissed her forehead. "Go slow on me, ok?"

"This time at least."

Rustle of silk, moans and groans, wandering hands, warm skin and autumn wind. One by one, Sesshomaru kissed every scar on her tense flesh, from the faintest of cuts to the angry slash the Shikon no Tama had been extracted from eight years ago.

For a moment, there was just them. She forgot everything else. Every tear, every battle, every drop of blood… She would be his in the purest of ways.

Finally Kagome's back arched and she let out a silent cry, breathing his name, and her skin sparked with holy powers, defending her from the mighty demon that explored the depths of her body.

His claws barely dug on the skin of her hip, but neither of them felt the pain. Instead a sensation of expectation built inside of her with every movement, and when she gasped without a sound, holding him tightly against her body, finding the explosion that made her tremble with waves and aftershocks she had never known, she understood why people liked this so much.

"Are you well?" He asked in the sweetest tone that made her melt even further. She nodded against his neck. "Do you wish me to continue?"

"Yes, please," she murmured.

* * *

When dawn broke and she shifted at the sound of the birds singing, he was careful not to distress her. It was possible she would momentarily forget what had happened last night, or regretted it, so he braced himself for her reaction.

She turned in his embrace, under fur and silk, and when her eyes fluttered open at him, she smiled. He mimicked her gesture with that so unusual curl on his lips, and when he leaned down to greet her good morning, she suddenly pulled away, startled.

"Kagome?"

She covered her reddened face with both hands. "You can't kiss me! I must have morning breath!"

His smile returned, wider. He pressed his lips to her forehead.

* * *

She felt silly, but when he complied, the butterflies in her stomach fluttered like crazy.

Once the water had covered her body completely, she allowed him to turn. She cleared her throat. "You… you coming?" He nodded solemnly and undid his obi knot. The jolt of panic in her scent stopped him on his tracks. "Wh-why are you staring at me now?" She inquired, oblivious to her shifting perfume.

"Does this bother you?"

"N-no… I'm just not used to bathing with a man."

She had dressed without letting him see her naked body, and he had quickly put on his own clothes in the meanwhile. This bath right now was bringing up unspoken matters. "Good thing, because I am a demon."

She looked up at him, her face blushing furiously, feeling all the shyness she had somehow managed to leave behind the previous night, and nodded.

He took off his armor and kimono. When his pants dropped, her giggle caused him to arch an eyebrow in her direction as he stepped into the water. _Surely she would not…_

"Last night was dark, I couldn't see a thing…" She bit her lower lip. "You've got stripes!"

Taking her hand into his and pressing it to his cheek, allowing her to explore his markings, he purred. "You knew that before."

"No, no…" Her eyes wandered low, below the water surface, and she bit her lip again. " _You have stripes_."

* * *

When the sphere of light dissolved, they were at the entrance of the room that had been assigned to her in his pavilion during their visit.

He waited outside as she changed, still uncontrollably shy despite _everything_. He heard the rustle of silk and her steps traveling across the room.

"Kagome," he called from outside.

"I love that you don't call me 'miko' anymore. What is it?"

"How do humans marry?"

Her steps stopped. "Wh-why do you ask?"

"I cannot mate you, but that does not stop me from marrying you."

He heard her gulping. "It really depends on the religion and country."

"Then, what should I do to have you marry me?" A long, unbearable silence. "Kagome."

"Are you serious about this?"

Her question confused him, so he answered with one of his own. "Kagome, do you understand what mating is?"

Behind the panel, she blushed. "Kinda…"

"It is the most powerful bond a demon can share with another creature, especially for the kind that mates for life. Lives and souls become one, even after death." After hearing her affirmative hum, he continued. "If I am willing to share my soul with yours, but am only restrained by duty, why would I not be serious about sharing a human ceremony that confirms my intentions?"

She started moving again. "I don't doubt your word, I just… I had never been proposed before."

"Are you dissatisfied?"

She giggled. "It's hardly a typical proposal, but it's not like we're a typical couple."

He smirked. "I would like to know of the particulars of these rites, even previous courtships if necessary."

She opened the panel, emerging in a white kimono with red autumn leaves decorating the bottom and the sleeves. Just a glance at it and he recognized the message: she remembered he liked her better in her miko garments and this was the most similar clothing she had found. Also, it reminded him strongly of the place he had taken her, on white fur and fallen leaves. Her rosy cheeks communicated it had been precisely her intention. "It's kinda late for you to try to seduce me, don't you think?"

He shook his head with solemnity. "I will abide to your customs. Name what you require and you shall have it."

She stepped closer to him. "You already know what I need."

Leaning to kiss her, he whispered against her lips. "And I shall provide."

* * *

For the first time in five years, Kagome was truly happy.

She was perfectly aware of the dumb smile on her face as she talked, walking by Sesshomaru and holding his hand like it was the most natural thing ever. But she couldn't bring herself to mind.

He explained that she didn't have to restrain herself, that she was welcome to do as she pleased, since no one would dare to disrespect their lord's chosen female. And what pleased Kagome was to be sincere.

It was not until they were descending the stairs that realization dawned on her.

She now belonged to Sesshomaru, the only brother of her former intended mate. He had all intentions of asking her to marry him, to give her children, to have no other female. She had voiced the feelings she hadn't even known she had, given him her body.

All in one night. The day before she had been seeing Inuyasha's lifeless corpse being stabbed, and now she was walking hand in hand with the taiyoukai who had been a constant in her life for so long, yet had been gone for even longer.

And now she had to face the past.

"Kagome," he called, his deep, rumbling voice pulling her from her thoughts.

"I don't know how I'm gonna tell him…"

His eyes darkened. "Do you wish me to accompany you?"

"No, let me talk to him first. But I'd sure like you to have a word with him later. Wait for me upstairs"

"Very well."

He stopped a few steps behind, watching the priestess linger at the door, finally calling softly the hanyou's name.

"Yeah, come in." The tone in his voice, the ice that coated his words, told her he already knew.

Giving Sesshomaru one last look, she entered the room, closing the sliding panel behind.

Inuyasha was sitting on the futon, clothed in alien garments, wearing only a white cotton robe, similar to the ones the dead wear… And his expression didn't differ.

She sat on her heels by his bed, her hands tightly fisted in her borrowed silk.

Long, eternal minutes dragged between them. Until she finally spoke.

"I'm in love with Sesshomaru."

"I know."

"…He can't mate me because of some laws, but I don't care, we still can be together."

He nodded.

"I think… I think he loves me too."

"Shut up, Kagome."

She started, tears suddenly building up in the corner of her eyes.

He hadn't looked at her, his eyes focused on the opened panels that allowed a view of the balcony and the gardens, and far beyond the stretch of clouds.

"I'm ok with it. You don't have to make me feel better about it."

She swallowed, her eyes locked on her shaking hands that wrinkled silk, and when she looked up to the hanyou, she realized a pink barrier had enveloped her, leaving her friend outside.

The shimmering protection fell, like water spilling on glass, and she reigned herself in. "I'd just wished you'd be happy for me… and that you'd move on too."

He shook his head. "Can't."

"Why not?"

"I marked you. Humans can have more than one in their lives. Dog demons can't."

Something stung in her chest, and she soon discovered guilt was stabbing her. "Then there has to be a way to erase your mark away."

His golden eyes darted at her with such a fury and hate she had never seen, and her tears fell. "Don't you have two shoulders?"

She frowned at his icy words. "I want to free you, Inuyasha. I won't deal with you being alone your whole life because of…" She was not quite sure of how to formulate it. "Because of a relationship that didn't work out."

"Don't sweat on it, I'll be fine."

Her lips trembled and the tears refused to stop. "Then let me take away the subjugation beads." He started, his hand mechanically rising to grab at the necklace possessively. She sighed. "I thought a lot about it. I have no more power over you, I don't want to have it. You freed me; I want to do the same for you."

He shook his head. "Told ya I'll be fine."

"Inuyasha, please… I trust you, I should have taken the beads off of you so long ago… I was just scared we'd lose that which connected us… Now… Now I need you to move on, like I am moving on."

"You don't get it, do you?" He barked. "I'm not a human, I'm a very fucking faithful dog. I _can't_ move on, no matter how fast you do. Just let me keep this scrap of what I didn't get, just so I'm sure I didn't fucking dream it… Just… Just get the fuck out of here, Kagome. Your mate's waiting for ya."

The knot in her throat tightened, and she stood with only fury to mask her sorrow. Before she shut the door, she glared at him from over her shoulder. "He's not my mate, he's my future husband… and he's your only brother."

After the loud thump of wood against wood and her socked feet stomping away in the hallway, Inuyasha decided he had had fucking enough of all that.

* * *

A movement on the corner of his eye, and his mother was sitting between Persian pillows in his main chamber, playing with her fan. "You should know it takes at least three baths for the stench of human females to wash off one's body. Did your father teach you nothing at all?"

"I will not hide her, not from you nor from the court."

The Lady stood and prowled across the room that last night had remained untouched. "Oh? And the Cardinal Lords? Will they know of your little mortal whore too?"

Before she could even blink, Bakusaiga was pointed at her neck. "You will _not_ insult my chosen one."

"A female whose intended mate is in his deathbed and yet seeks no one's attention but another's deserves no respect." Her crystalline voice taunted with a smile. "Just look at it from my point of view, Sesshomaru;her scent tells what her eyes do not. Even with that moribund hanyou in her arms, she wanted nothing but your notice, _froze_ and stopped fighting the murderer of her once beloved just by hearing her name on your lips. Once her conscience was free, she sought your bed. Not a day has passed and she has given herself to another male," she purred.

The edge shone closer to her flesh, but she didn't bat an eyelash. "This is my last warning, bitch."

Both of them heard her coming, but they both refused to move. When she entered the room, she gasped.

"Son of mine, your sire taught you the secrets of the sword and he taught you well. Did your mother's training in matters of strategy fall on deaf ears?"

Kagome walked behind him, placing her hand on his shoulder, sure that this was _somehow_ her own fault. "Sesshomaru, you can't threaten your mother like that."

His sword lowered, and the demoness smiled knowingly. "Good dog," she purred, causing her son to snarl. Once again she sat between the cushions and pillows, and looked at the girl before her grin widened. "Ever since the human could defend himself there was the Shikon no Tama."

Kagome's breath caught.

"The first Priestess, who protected the Jewel that represented the battle between man and demon, was the Shikon Miko, a being of unparalleled power, lethal to any youkai, no matter how great or terrible… Balance, however, can only be achieved by giving a formidable warrior a worthy opponent… So if there existed a priestess, there would exist a youkai who could not rival her powers, but threaten her mortality… I am pleased, son, that you, the greatest youkai alive, have found a way to win over the Priestess of the Jewel without having to shed a drop of blood."

Understanding bloomed in the girl's mind.

"However, where you see the most desirable lover, the Clans and the Lords see a predator. The greatest enemy who guards the greatest prize. A common wench could have been, perhaps, overlooked by our laws… but _this_ little delicacy of yours, will have every single eye on her."

She moved her hand in front of her face, dismissively. "You cannot mate her, of course. Mating our natural enemy would be plain treason, but how could you leave her unprotected?"

"This Sesshomaru will mark her, and let it indicate my bond to her."

"Fruitless, son of mine. Without the mating complete, any male could challenge for the right to possess her."

"They would not succeed."

A smug little smile pulled on her colored lips. "Are you so vain you believe you can defeat three Cardinal Lords defying you at once?" Before letting her son respond, she continued. "I have, however, a solution that involves little of your blood spilling to answer unnecessary questions."

Kagome held her breath.

"You must give her the privileges of a mate, but none of the responsibilities or rights… Take the human girl as your concubine and no one will challenge your claim. She will be honored and respected, known and protected, yet never harmed."

The miko turned at him. "Can we do that?"

"Of course you can, sweet little priestess. There is, however, more to it. A concubine is not and cannot be a mate. She can hold not the benefits or burdens of one…"

"I don't understand…"

"You cannot bear my son's pup. A child is a violation of the concubinage law. An impregnated concubine must be mated, and in that case, that would mean sure death for both you and your offspring."

Kagome frowned "How can something like that be so strict?"

"Our sense of smelling, sweet girl, can warn us of every shift in your temperature and scent. An inu-youkai can only impregnate a female if he decides to do so."

She meditated her words. "So, we can either stay like this and wait for the worst… Or I can become your concubine and assure peace for the West."

"And reverence. The Western Lord, he who dominated the Shikon Miko!"

Her brown eyes raised to Sesshomaru's, who remained aloof and silent. She entwined her fingers with his. "Let's do it."

He looked down at her, with eyes so warm it was like he was a different person. "Absolutely not. It would mean I could not give you children."

Kagome smiled brightly at him. "We'd protect them, else they could be harmed just because they're illegitimate and law doesn't apply to them."

He held her fingers tightly, then nodded. "I will still marry her and will mate no other. She will bear my mark."

"Oh, by human law, do to your heart's content. Marry the girl twice! To our rules, it means nothing. Call her mate under the nose of the Northern Lord, he can do nothing if your mating is not acknowledged."

"That's enough for me," she chirped.

But he knew, as her scent took a new shift for sadness, that it wasn't.


	17. History and strategy

**A/N:** Your reviews make me so very happy, the favorites almost make me wanna cry in joy ·^^· This part of the story is becoming extremely hard for me to write, since as I said, this is a family drama, not a romantic tragedy. Also I recently broke up with my fiance and writing a couple in love is so difficult right now... I hope you don't give up on me! We're about to give one of our first big jumps :D

 _ **As usual, special thanks to Kim, who is not only the best beta ever, but also regulates my sleep patterns, makes soy sauce, and likes Bécquer poems.**_

* * *

 **History and strategy**

She kissed his temple and hid her face in the crook of his neck, hugging him tightly from behind. "I never want to break this hug."

He turned his head and nuzzled her cheek. "Then we shall not."

She leaned into his touch lovingly. "But we have to go. I know we just arrived the day before yesterday, but Shippo and the others must be so worried. As soon as Inuyasha can travel, we have to go back to the taijiya village."

Sesshomaru nodded, lifting his hand to caress the head of the girl that hugged him from behind. "But before anything else, you must tell me how to voice my proposition of marriage in a more acceptable way."

Kagome started, face red again. "Y-you don't have to worry about that, I told you it's fine."

In a swift movement that made her vision swim, she had been pulled and was now stretched under her taiyoukai's frame, his silver hair all around her, and she giggled. "Shall I convince you to cooperate in my quest?"

"My lips are sealed!"

He leaned and pressed a wet kiss on her throat, causing her to sigh. "Is that so?"

"Well, figuratively sealed."

He smiled, and she loved that. Pulling him for another kiss, she smiled back against his lips.

After a moment, he broke the contact. "Would you allow me to mark you?"

Kagome's breath caught. The day before she had woken up by his side after giving him her body, but that night they just slept together in the sweetest of embraces. Now, as the sun greeted the morning, she realized they had spent a whole day being nothing but lovers. She giggled at the thought that it was displeasing him he could not let the world know she was his.

She nodded, and he smiled, but before he could sink into her left shoulder, she stopped him with a caress on his cheek, tracing the marks that were now unrestricted ground. "On a condition."

"Whatever you wish."

She bit her lip. "I get to mark you back. In my own way."

His eyes barely betrayed surprise, and if she was not so good at reading him, she would have missed it. "If that is what you desire."

Sesshomaru knew of her past, her ways, her quirks, and loved every single one of them. He knew she would not be Kagome if things had been different, and he didn't care that another male's mark rested on her right shoulder. He knew she had lived and loved, but only minded the future they would have together.

He kissed the curve of her neck with tenderness, savoring her scent and taste, perceiving the holy power that sparked under her skin, rebuffing and welcoming him.

"You are mine," he murmured against her shoulder. "For whatever time I have, my strength shall hold our home; your breath will give me life; our scent shall be the same; your heart beats now in me." He slowly pressed his fangs against her skin, marking her forever as his own. "Mate of mine, let not one day be spent away from you; but if we must part, I oath to find my way back to the warmth of your side, despite it all. To keep you from all harm, and face sorrow and joy, in this and every lifetime, Kagome, mate of mine, I am yours."

When he pulled away, he kissed the tears that had built on the side of Kagome's eyes, and she smiled, hugging him tightly.

"Now," he said, pressing his lips to her forehead, in that manner that was becoming a custom and she loved, "you must keep your word and mark this Sesshomaru back."

She bit her lower lip. "But I don't have such a pretty vow to say."

He brushed his cheek against hers. "Mate, I have awaited centuries for you, any rote you choose to honor me with shall please me."

She took a deep breath and sat up, in front of him, and took his hands. "You are mine, I am yours," she repeated, then her voice took a sing-song quality that made him think if humans had protocolled mating rites just like youkai. "To have and to hold, in good or bad times, for richer or poorer, in health or sickness." She kissed the knuckles of his left hand. "And I'll try not to have such a short temper, and I'll try to understand your point of view every time we argue." Her mouth moved to graze his other hand. "To greet you every morning with a smile, to be patient, to always tell you why I'm angry, to never lie." She leaned and kissed his forehead. "To feel home with you, to never try to change you." Then, the tip of his nose. "To love and honor you every day of my life with all my soul."

She kissed his mouth with sweet tenderness, and then moved to his left shoulder, where she pressed a kiss, her holy powers tingling in her lips, leaving behind a tickling feeling on his skin. She then pressed her forehead to his chest. "And I'll live in your heart forever, loving you with all my humanity, mortal or not, no matter what."

Sesshomaru was pleased that the feeling of her kiss on his shoulder lingered, and caressed her cheek. She laughed softly. "That's a lot of promises, I got carried away. But don't worry, I'll keep them all."

He lowered her into the bed again, kissing her abdomen with adoration. "Soon I shall marry you, that is one more thing I vow to you, my dearest mate."

* * *

"No, can't you fucking listen what I'm saying? I don't want this, I want _MY_ clothes!"

"My apologies," stuttered the youkai maiden, holding the cotton yukata Inuyasha had refused to accept. "I was ordered to bring you this."

"Well, I don't care! I want my clothes to get the hell out of this fucking place!"

"I can see," purred a voice from the entrance of his room, "that you inherited little of your father's sense of etiquette."

Inuyasha snarled at the Western Lady. "Well, too fucking bad. I just want my clothes so I can stop insulting your pretty palace with my foul mouth!"

"Well, at least he does know his place, the lowly mongrel," she laughed, dismissing the maiden with a wave of her hand after taking the yukata herself. "Your clothing cannot be retrieved to you because they are dead." His ears crooked and his expression scrunched in confusion, causing her to sigh in exasperation. "I would expect even one of your kind could wonder why his clothes fit him since childhood and regenerate after being mostly torn apart."

"Shut up already, I know they're youkai clothes, but I didn't think they could _die_."

The Empress of the West sat on the end of his futon and inspected her scarlet claws dismissively. "Technically, only the haori is ruined. Your pants still live, if you want them."

"Of course I want them!"

"Oh, but what a hideous attire you will surely sport. You clearly lack any taste, so whatever upper piece you choose will certainly not combine."

"Wha…!? Do I look like I care!?"

" _I_ would care about what little inheritance I got from my father."

His ears snapped forward, but he remained quiet, and she smiled with a warmth he didn't imagine she could show.

"I loved your father, pup," Inuyasha felt a knot in his throat suddenly form, and was momentarily confused by the change in her tone. "I never knew a male who could profess such kindness, wisdom, and might. He was the greatest Lord that Kanto, the most western province of our lands, ever knew."

She lied down at the end of his bedding, her silver white hair framing her face, and she smiled at the roof beams. The hanyou felt shocked.

"I loved your mother as well, how could I not love a creature capable of conquering my beloved mate's heart? Oh, she was the fiercest human I ever knew. She feared nothing, and loved life with such a passion… And that generous soul of hers… Even the gods trembled in front of her iron will."

Inuyasha managed to close his mouth and looked down, his hands holding his sheets tightly.

"Your father came to me for my blessing after he met her. That look he had, like he had seen the sun bathe the earth for the first time. I was so happy he could finally feel the joy he had given me for so many centuries… They were happy, but he loved her too much… Our laws, pup, forbid matting humans, and this rules are specially observed in the case of aristocracy… He had to take her as his concubine… Oh, but he did love her too much."

He frowned. "What happened?"

From her place at the end of the bedding, she turned her head at him. "You happened."

Inuyasha's expression darkened far more, and she stood, only to sit again behind him, brushing his long hair with her clawed fingers.

"What are ya doin'?"

"Grooming you, pup, like our kind does with our little ones. Oh it was your father's guilty pleasure to be groomed like in the days of his youth, no matter how many thousands of years passed."

He wanted to complain, but the nervous bulge in his chest receded as the demoness' claws scraped his scalp, stirring neglected childhood instincts.

"Better, am I correct?"

"Why you're being all nice now?" He questioned gruffly.

"You remind me of your father…" She sighed. "But so does your brother, and he will likely make the same mistake."

He swallowed. "Mistake?"

"Your father loved your mother too much. He could not mark her, since he had already mated me before. Her mortal days were quickly coming to an end, and the only other way a human's life could be extended… was by a child's doing."

He turned his head to look at her, but her eyes seemed distant.

"A child needs his mother, a mother needs her child. When you were conceived, your life lengthened hers, the way your father's mark would have. You protected her. That is why your mother lived a whole century, before dying an unnatural death when you could already reach her waist."

Inuyasha's ears crooked. He hated talking about that day, when demons had killed Izayoi and he had not been able to protect her.

"I avenged her death, pup," she explaining like reading his thoughts, causing him to jerk in surprise. "But I could not prevent it. I hid the two of you as long as I could, but in the end, the weight of our law reached her with all its force. After that I sent you Myouga and hoped you would live to reclaim Tessaiga one day."

"Why did they kill her?"

The rhythm of her hands slowed. "The child of a lord can only be conceived with a youkai mate. We were at times of war, so any bastard would be considered an obvious target… Your mother became his concubine, a rightful second wife, protected by law… But he could not lose her to the claws of time, so he broke our rules and gave her what she wished the most for: a child. A child that would not be illegitimate, but still lawless. A child that gave her years and years of life, but in the end put at odds the inheritance of the West. And therefore, had to die."

"So he died protecting us…"

"He was stupid and selfish. To give a mere century of life to your mother, he lost the many thousands he still had. But of course he would have died only so she could breathe one more time… Ryukotsusei, the Azure Dragon of the Depths, knew of his crime, and used his right as the Lord of the East to carry out the sentence, devastating the West and fighting your father. The Cats of the North and the Crows of the South agreed with him, declared Sesshomaru the new rightful Lord of the West, and set off to hunt your father down. The Plains of Musashi were almost destroyed during the fray."

"That's were our village is."

"The border of my son's lands, yes, and where your forest lays… and where your mother's palace was as well… I begged him to rest, to regain strength, but he had to go to her, he had to save her, and you. Everyone thought you were dead too after Izayoi was executed, but Sesshomaru and I knew better… You were declared deceased, and so you are now protected from further persecution, two centuries later."

Inuyasha's teeth were tightly clenched. "So it was all my fault…?"

"Oh, fool pup, have you not heard a word I said?" She tugged at his hair. "Both of them knew the consequences of dividing a Cardinal Empire between legitimate and illegitimate sons. The other Lords saw a weakened kingdom coming to an end, and the balance needed to be preserved. Ever since the dawn of the world, the Dragons of the East and the Seas, the Crows of the South and the Skies, the Cats of the North and the Underworld, and the Dogs of the West and the Frontiers have lived in a delicate harmony. The fall of a reign would mean the collapse of the rest… When the White Tigress mated the first Dog Lord to create the alliance between the North and the West, the laws were written. Those were the days of the Gods, and therefore our rules are more ancient than any remaining living creature… Your father knew this, as much as your mother did. They chose their path, and embraced the consequences… They loved you too much not to bring you to this world."

The demoness stood cheerfully, with a smile. "Now," she continued. "I cannot resurrect your haori, since the purification of that monk consumed it entirely, but I can provide you a new attire, of similar but greater capacities… It belonged to your father, too… He would have wanted you to have it…"

Inuyasha's eyes widened, causing the Lady to giggle. "Do you wish to see your father's chambers?" She sighed with a nostalgic expression. "You can even still smell his scent in his silk, in his armor… I could swear his footsteps still echo in the training halls."

He gulped and nodded dumbly.

"Well, then! You'll have to dress in that white yukata first. I will not allow you to wander about naked in my house."

* * *

"Stripes!"

"Kagome, would you rather I name every marking of my body, so you will not be so surprised when discovering them?"

"Eh? Ah, no! No way! Don't spoil it!" Kagome was delighted to have found two magenta stripes that rode down on his nape, the beginning lost in the line of his silver hair. "You really have a lot more than I expected."

He hummed noncommittally. "You are the first to see those, besides my mother, I suppose."

Her sharp intake of air had him turning his head, to look at her with a quirked brow. She suddenly seemed so happy it was ridiculous, her smile widening beyond what he thought was possible. "Is something the matter?"

"Nothing, just… yay! I knew I wasn't the first one to see those on your hips, so, this is nice… I mean… Nothing, forget it." She continued to grin frantically, braiding his hair, and he huffed while shaking his head, smirking.

The afternoon winter sun was tolerably warm, but the chilly air contrasted its heat, so Kagome was glad she could envelope herself in her future husband's fur while they rested on the grass.

"Done!" Sesshomaru could hardly care less about his new foreigner hairstyle, he was simply glad his Kagome was happy. He inwardly swore he would let her braid his hair every day if it would always make her smile like that. "Now you have to show me around some more… Though I'm starting to suspect this palace is too big for me to see it entirely."

"You will if so you wish."

"It's ok, no need to hurry. What should we see first?"

Taking her hand, he guided her to the northern quarters, crossing bridges and ponds, where he trained during his earlier youth. She marveled at the sight of the fine tatami that carpeted the main dojo, the armory, the arena. "These places are so big," she murmured.

"We train in our true forms too, spacious grounds are a necessity."

She leaned on one knee on the floor, her fingers brushing it. "There's so much youki flowing here, it's like it was alive."

"Every generation of masters and soldiers of the Western Fortress has trained here."

"That's got to be a lot of time…" A thought suddenly dawned on Kagome, and she almost jumped from her place. "Train for me?"

He cocked his head at her request.

"Rin says you practice your swordsmanship every morning, but I've never seen you. Would you mind if I watch you training?"

He inclined his head with a smile. "I would imagine you preferred I showed you the gardens, the archive, the stables perhaps."

"Nah… Well, yeah, maybe later. But I'm really curious about this."

"Very well."

* * *

She clapped delighted, her clawed fingers placed in front of her upturned mouth. "Oh, you look _enchanting_!"

Inuyasha's red face was the only crimson thing that could be spotted on the mirror he had been offered. "It's kinda… black."

"Well, perhaps because it _is_ black," she retorted with a playful smile.

"Yeah, but…"

"Pup, you have worn the same clothing ever since a diaper was no longer a necessity. Trust _me_ when I say darker colors accentuate your features."

"Yeah, but I don't want _accentuated features_ , I just want my damn clothes back!"

"Boy, you must get through that thick skull of yours that they are gone. Accept this as inheritance of your father… What is more! You should have the chance to change clothes, and I have just the thing you should try on next!"

Inuyasha blinked, looking down at the garments he was put in. The black sashinuki hakama that ballooned around his ankles was the only piece similar to his previous clothes. The white upper piece, covered by a black sleeveless haori as some sort of vest, was vastly different from his fire rat robe.

The Empress' maidens came carrying blue and white silk, as much as a dark, blood red bundle of fine cotton.

"Not the white one," he icily declared.

"Oh? Such an aversion for your father's favored color?"

"Sesshomaru wears white. I've already got enough in common with him."

She smirked sympathetically, and dismissed that particular servant, calling for the one bringing blue. "Yet another reason to sport black."

"You want me to change _again_?"

"Of course, dear boy. Feel free to keep how many you like."

"And if I don't like any?"

"Why, then you will run around the world in the nude!"

Inuyasha swore under his breath and began to undo the complicated knots of the black hakama. "Oi, you said Sesshomaru was gonna make my ol' man's same mistake, what did you mean?"

"Yesterday he declared the Shikon Miko his concubine, and the rumor mill has surely brought the news to the other three Cardinal Lords' ears. Like father, like son."

Inuyasha stopped in his tracks, and his mind raced. "You mean he did the same as my father? And now he won't give her children?"

"That, or he will please her by breaking the law. History might repeat itself."

"No… no, fuck, no, no way…" He quickly retied his pants, darting outside the room, still cursing.

"Oh…! Oh, well, at least he was wearing clothes."

* * *

Kagome didn't bother to hide her staring, devouring Sesshomaru through her eyes. He was bare chested, Bakusaiga glimmering in the sunlight that entered through the windows, flowing in the air with every practiced movement of his routine.

Every one of the muscles of his torso tensed and relaxed, as he moved slowly, conquering invisible opponents. Still, her attention was mostly captive of the pair of stripes that rode low on his abdomen, over the V shaped muscles that finally hid under his hakama.

"Yep… I'm positively the luckiest girl in the universe," she declared once he was finished with that particular exercise.

He smirked, but didn't allow his concentration to drift much further. He began to move again, shifting his weight, an exact precision in his every motion that honored his name. The Killing Perfection's flawless technique rivaled a clockwork machine, and every single twist of his body was carefully calculated.

Kagome was pretty much drooling when she noticed a change in his stance, and he stood tall and still with his back turned to her, Bakusaiga firm in his grasp, resting at his side.

"Sesshomaru?" She inquired after a moment. "Is everything all right?"

His narrowed eyes remained locked on the southern wall, and he tightened his hold in anticipation.

Kagome was about to talk again when a raging howl startled her, and the rice paper wall was torn to pieces by a flash of black and white, that hollered curses as he darted to the taiyoukai.

The hanyou tackled his brother, ignoring completely his deadly sword. In a single swift motion Sesshomaru let go of Bakusaiga and held the younger, throwing him against a wooden column with his own weight and strength. The other stood up immediately, roaring and screaming, slashing with his claws mercilessly, his better judgement clouded by fury. The demon managed to remain as calmed as he could, although his snarl and the crimson edges in his eyes showed he was close to lose his temper.

"YOU FUCKING ASSHOLE! YOU CAN'T DO THAT TO HER! YOU KNOW! YOU _KNEW_ WHY!"

Sesshomaru's fangs flashed as he captured his brother with all his force, pinning him to the floor, where he squirmed and bit down hard on his older sibling's forearm. The splash of blood, made Kagome scream, so loudly they finally heard her.

"SIT! YOU TWO STOP RIGHT NOW! SESSHOMARU, LET HIM GO! WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU, INUYASHA!?"

The sound of the thump still echoed, and the hanyou growled deep in the floor, further in than his brother had stamped him. Sesshomaru took the opportunity to stand and tranquilize, releasing a slow exhalation through his nose. "Kagome, I believe my little brother and I require a moment to talk privately."

The hybrid's head popped up and he glared at him, but was visibly more calmed.

Kagome's eyes went from one to the other, and then she spoke. "Can you promise you won't be at each other's throats as soon as I leave?"

"You have my word," stated Sesshomaru, "that I will not drive this conflict further."

She sighed, but gave them both a determinate glare. "Just behave, ok? I'll be around in the gardens."

Once her hesitant steps sounded far enough, Sesshomaru turned to see his brother. He was panting and shaking off the dust of some garments he had not seen in centuries, and fought to focus on his scent, instead of the subtle smell of his father that still lingered on the thick silk.

Still weak, although physically healthy.

"Of all people," the half breed breathed as the other slid into his haori. "Out of all fucking people in the world she _had_ to run into _you_ …"

Sesshomaru's jaw clenched, but remained silent, wordlessly approving of his brother's use of words instead of actions, at least this once.

"You can't do that to her," he said, standing and facing him, his chest puffed with determination.

Sesshomaru inclined his head. "Do what?"

"You can't make her your concubine, you bastard."

The taiyoukai's chin lifted. "She already has been formally acknowledged as such."

"No, don't give me that shit. If you know what happened with my mother…"

" _That_ ," interrupted the other, "was our father's fault. He was egoistic and insatiable. His mistakes cost him his life, and his wife followed to his tomb."

Inuyasha snarled. " _Then_ that means you won't break the law! That means you won't mate her! That you won't give her children!"

The demon's eyes hardened. "I will not transgress our ancestral legislation. These laws exist for a reason, and _shall_ be respected."

Inuyasha fisted his hand in his brother's collar, pulling him down, snarling, face to face with him. "I gave it all up, _ALL_ so she could have the life she deserved, and she _deserves_ you give her a family."

"Little brother," Sesshomaru growled, holding his wrist firmly, and far more calmly than he felt. "I said I would abide to law, not that I do not intend to make Kagome my mate _and_ a mother."


	18. Amaranthine

**_WARNING!_ **_This chapter contains unhealthy doses of fluff! Read at your own risk._

 **I have this idea for a SessxKag one-shot (check my other one-shot Chapter One in my profile, which is InuxKag) where Kagome and Sesshomaru find themselves stuck in a traffic jam for hours, on opposite lanes, and end up talking. You think I should write it? Let me know in your reviews!**

As usual, special thanks to **_Kim_ ,** who's not only the best beta ever, but also regulates my sleeping patterns... and didn't see any snowmen at the snowmen festival.

* * *

 **Amaranthine**

Inuyasha parted ways with his brother after over an hour, back to the pavilion, still panting and not entirely satisfied, but far more at ease than when he had come over there with the firm intention of killing him.

He climbed up the stairs, and the Western Lady received him with a shake of her head. "I told you to rest, did I not?"

"Shut up," he answered with the shadow of a smile.

"I can see you feel at ease with this new attire?"

Inuyasha looked down at the black garments he had completely forgotten about. "They're clothes, I guess…"

"Oh, such a poor sense of taste… I have a proposition for you, however."

His ears crooked. "What is it?"

"You will take this and the blue outfit, and allow my saying in the way you dress." He waited patiently for her to continue after she beckoned a maiden to approach again with the dark red bundle of before. "In return, you can have this."

Inuyasha's eyes widened when he saw her carefully unfold the fire rat robe. "Thought you said those were goners…"

"Yours were, indeed. These have never been worn, and they are a gift."

"There's a _second_ fire rat robe and you're gifting it to me?"

"I would never do such thing! This is a treasure… and I am simply delivering it. It is a present from your father." His head jerked up and she giggled. "He said one day you would come to die by my hand, and after I did what was necessary, I would relinquish these to you, since the ones he inherited to you would be lost forever. I never understood the meaning of his prediction until I smelled your rotting flesh begging for me to save you."

"Wait, you mean… my father knew I'd have to die and resurrect and that I'd need new clothes?"

"He commissioned two with that very certainty in mind. This one, pup, is all yours. Look, the dye is brand new. It has just been taken out from its case for the first time in millennia…"

Inuyasha's hand trembled as it drew near to touch the fabric, but she moved away. "No, no! We had an agreement. I will give you these, but you'll have to wear the black top of that one on this."

He looked down at the long vest that covered his white haori. "What? Why?"

"Because so much red will give me a headache."

He rolled his eyes. "Fine, whatever, just give 'em here."

She gladly surrendered the new garments, before turning to leave. "Oh, by the way, the gift… it comes with a message."

He started, a knot in his throat. "He… he says something to me?"

She looked over her shoulder. "Son, your courage makes this old spirit proud."

* * *

Kagome's eyes fluttered open when Sesshomaru's hand caressed her cheek, and she looked up at him with a smile.

Suddenly, she gasped in horror, taking his hand in hers and inspecting the injure Inuyasha's fangs had inflicted. "It's already healed," she announced with relief. "He's such a brute, what got into him this time?"

"His concerns were well founded and appropriate for a packmate. Do not fear for the gash, it is barely a flesh wound," he said while sitting by her side on the rock bench.

"Too much blood for that," she mused. "Want to head back to change?"

"And to bathe."

"Sounds like a plan."

They walked to the main tower of his chambers, where his personal rooms were. This time, after the bathhouse had been set, she allowed herself to change in front of him.

She shampooed his hair while slowly undoing the braid, and he purred, leaning against her chest, while they sat in the warm water. "You sure sound like you're enjoying yourself," she said with a smile.

"Inu-youkai grooming instincts are hard to ignore, even for an adult."

"I wonder…" She tentatively scratched his scalp behind his ears, giggling when he shuddered with pleasure. "All dog."

He turned around, holding her tightly against his heated body, and she gasped before moaning. He smirked. "All human."

* * *

"No."

Inuyasha scowled tugging at the collar of the black fabric he was still entirely unused to. "Why not?"

"Too risky, I won't have any of you fighting them."

Sesshomaru tried to reason with her, "The Western armies are too great in number to be taken down by the Shiroari priests."

"Still, it's an unnecessary fight. We can just stay here; this is a more defendable position, a fortified town. New villagers arrive all the time and they are more trained to survive war than the people at the Plains of Musashi. The mountain will be very useful."

"They _will_ come to us here," the taiyoukai acknowledged. "Preparing these humans for war, train them and the youkai soldiers, fortify the village further…"

"All the while keeping Kaede's village and the Well safe," she chirped, receiving a steaming cup of tea from Jinenji.

Inuyasha growled low. He was not happy with the idea of definitely leaving behind the first place he had known as home, where so many memories lingered, but he yielded. "Fine, but we'll go back there once we manage to take down these Shiroari assholes."

"In the meanwhile, you should find a way to break their holy barriers," she suggested.

Shippo and Jaken watched the exchange, looking from one of the brothers to the other and then the human. The trio had returned after a whole week, and the threat of the holy men had been addressed immediately.

"But, wait, I don't get it, you're gonna get married here or at Kaede's village?" Inquired the fox with his head cocked, and Kohaku chuckled.

Kagome blushed. She had discussed the matter with the kitsune a few hours ago, and it struck her as funny that this was his first priority. "There's plenty of time to think of that," she mumbled.

"Is there?" Shessomaru's low tone warned he was not quite agreeing with that last sentence.

She started, looking at him. "You want to get married right away?"

"If it depended on this Sesshomaru, you would already be my wife…"

Her face turned an even darker shade of red. "Mind discussing this in private?" She stood and excused herself to the others, walking outside, and taking a very displeased Sesshomaru's hand. "You're all cranky about this, aren't you? …I'm not in a hurry, to be honest… We're engaged, we should enjoy this part, we'll never be like this again…"

He sighed. "I will do as you wish."

She smiled. "Plus! My parents got married in spring; it's less than three months from now, enough to make preparations, and enough to make the best out of this stage! Also, the blossoms will look so beautiful…"

He nodded. "Spring. It is decided. What preparations should be attended to?"

"Oh, you know, what to wear, what to eat, a band or a DJ…" She laughed at his quirked eyebrow. "You'll see there's a lot of things that needs to be taken care of."

"And my proposal?"

She flushed. "Your proposal was fine, stop worrying about it! I don't expect you to do things my way when they won't be like that for the next five hundred years…! Just… I'm ok with it, it was good…"

She smiled, but he didn't. She returned to the house, passing by a carefree looking Inuyasha on the way.

Once he stepped outside, hands entwined and resting behind his head, the hanyou's lazy eyes rested on his brother, who seemed extremely somber. Sesshomaru glared at him, and the hybrid's mouth twisted in a mischievous smile.

* * *

Sesshomaru was down on one knee, two hands presented up to the one in front of him, holding something, his head bowed in reverence. He took a slow, deep breath before talking.

"Kagome… would you be my wife?"

From his angle of vision, he saw an impatient foot tapping, and heard a groan of frustration. "No, you _dumbass_. You did it all wrong!"

Sesshomaru frowned, and dropped the stone he was holding, standing and glaring at the hanyou. "I did exactly as you indicated."

"No you didn't! Look." Inuyasha snatched the rock, dropped to one knee, holding the trinket up with one hand and taking his brother's with the other, looking up. "Eyes on her, you hold her hand _before_ you ask her. Then when she says yes, you give her the ring."

The taiyoukai's gaze obscured, hating to receive instructions from his younger sibling. "How can you be so certain this is the correct method?"

"I saw it on a _movie_."

"A _movie_?"

"Yeah, Kagome's mom watches _movies_ while she's at _school_ , and every time someone wanted to get married, they had to do this first."

" _School_?"

"It's a place where people learn, and Kagome had to go and fight _exams_ … Don't get off topic! Focus, this is important. I once saw a guy who must've done it wrong because she said no."

The threat of failure put Sesshomaru on edge, and he diligently imitated his brother's previous position, holding his hand delicately, his eyes holding his. "Kagome, would you marry me?"

" _Oh, Sesshy-kun, yes! I am so happy_!" Inuyasha chanted with a high pitched voice, squirming with joy in place. A moment later, he stood firm and nodded, satisfied. "Well done. Now, listen here, this is _extremely_ important." Once the older rose, Inuyasha's tone became all business. "It _has_ to be a diamond ring. It can't be any other stone, you hear me?"

"This Sesshomaru knows of far greater gems he could…"

"No, _listen up_. Don't get creative. A diamond ring, end of the story. Remember you have to put it in this finger," he indicated the correct digit, and the taiyoukai memorized the instructions by heart. "Do what I say, it should be a piece o' cake."

"I will follow your directives."

"Good, now we need a red ribbon."

* * *

Sesshomaru caressed her left hand, for quite a long time, actually, and she giggled. "Is everything all right?" He looked at her, and nodded. "You seem a bit absentminded today."

"I have decided to have a home built for you."

"R-really?"

"Yes. Do you wish it to be built in this village?"

She was about to respond, when a thought came to her mind. "Do _you_ want to live in this village?"

Caught off guard, Sesshomaru considered her words. "It… could be done."

She shook her head with a smile. "Yeah, you don't sound too convinced… Where would you like to live?"

"Not the Palace."

She burst into laughter. "You answered so fast! Ah, well, where would be a good place?"

"A quiet place," he confessed, looking around at the busy village.

"Yes, that hearing of yours needs its rest."

"Far from intruders."

"Like anyone would dare to come close to you uninvited!"

"And beautiful."

She smiled and leaned on his shoulder, very aware he didn't wear his armor anymore, so she would have no trouble when snuggling him, as she so often did. "Yeah, a beautiful view would be nice."

He stood, and offered his hand to her. "Come. I might know a place."

She was surprised, but didn't hesitate. His hands held her waist, and light enveloped. After a few minutes of wind and a vertiginous feeling of speed, Kagome was lowered onto grass.

 _Wait, what?_ "Grass? It's winter!" She looked around, and found a beautiful green forest all around them. "Where are we?"

His fingers entwined with hers, and he pulled, like an excited child. "There is one you should meet."

Sesshomaru strolled forward, and she trotted behind him, all too curious to mind his speed. Suddenly they stopped. "Are we there yet?"

He leaned by her side, placing his head on her shoulder, and pointing ahead. "Yes, we are."

Kagome gasped when she saw a huge tree towering in the middle of a clearing, the enormous trunk several times wider than any other close by; far bigger than the Goshinboku and therefore larger than any tree she had ever seen. "It's so big! What is it?"

Sesshomaru placed his hands on his fiancée's shoulders as he stood behind her. "Bokuseno, I have come to see you."

Suddenly, the wind blew, and it felt like someone had exhaled. Kagome started when a deep voice rumbled across the forest. "Sesshomaru, I was not waiting for you this time. Be welcomed."

"What. Is. That?" She asked with a little voice, but he urged her to walk.

"This is Bokuseno, a two thousand year old youkai magnolia tree," he whispered in her ear.

"This is not the same human you brought to me the last time," the echoing voice noticed.

"This is my intended mate, and my future wife."

The chuckle that made the earth shake also made her shiver, but she kept on walking, with the taiyoukai at her back. "I have seen many things and heard many others, but as centuries passed I lost my faith I would see you taking a human for a mate!"

At this, he stopped just a few steps away. "What do you mean, Bokuseno?"

Twisting, the bark revealed a wrinkled face, and Kagome's pulse quickened. "Your father said you would one day come to me, introduce me to the female who had caught your eye, and that she would turn out to be a twice marked human."

"Did he?" the demon inquired carefully.

"Kagome, he said her name would be. The sweet _birdcage_ that looked after the Shikon no Tama."

She looked up at him, barely recovering from her speechlessness "I didn't know your father could see the future…"

His eyes narrowed. "He did not. At least as far as I knew."

Leaves and branches shook with his laughter. "He gave me plenty of time to accept what you have come to ask from me. Over five thousand years, as a matter of fact."

Kagome turned to see him. "I thought you said he was two thousand?"

"As a youkai, yes, but I lived for a very long time before my days as a demon."

"So Inu-papa met you when you were just a tree?"

He chuckled, "Just a tree, child, yes."

"Bokuseno, we have not come to ask anything from you," Sesshomaru said, going back to what he cared about in the conversation. "What did my father said I would request?"

"To invade my privacy, of course! He said it was quite a cozy youkai village you would build all around me, and that I actually would like being a part of that. That your two sons were nice company after all… I was adamantly determined to refuse your offer for about two thousand years, until I met you. Then, I was convinced I would be dead in the ground before sharing my territory with you… But when you came with the human child eight years ago, I reconsidered my position… perhaps you _can_ be reasonable."

Kagome giggled, shaking her head, knowing she would never have kids with him, and Sesshomaru glared at the other youkai. "I have only brought her here to show her the scenery. We do not require your hospitality for much longer."

"Oh, come on, don't be like that… If your father said we settled down here, maybe we should consider the option. After all you _did_ think of this place when I asked where you'd like to live."

He inclined his head at her. "It is a good location. What would be required to gain your final approval?"

She meditated for a second. "Shippo has to like it."

* * *

She didn't think of Inuyasha, or even her own comfort. She pictured a home for the kitsune, and so he understood the importance of her little friend in her life… and the impact he would have on his own plans.

After a whole day at Bokuseno's warm forest, they returned by night time, and she was greeted by the two-tails.

"Kagome, would you allow me to have a word with the kitsune?"

She stopped her hug, surprised. "S-sure. I'll go help with dinner."

Shippo shivered nervously, and looked up at the towering taiyoukai, a single drop of sweat rolling down his infantile face, expectation building anxiously.

"Kit," when he talked, Shippo jumped and shrieked in horror, but managed to reign himself in, a little clawed hand over his madly beating heart. "I require your assistance."

The boy cocked his head. "You want _my_ help?"

He beckoned at the kid, walking by Ah-Un's tomb and sitting down on the floor unceremoniously. "Yes, it is of upmost importance and no one else could fulfill this task."

Shippo's face brightened. "Really?"

"Indeed. If you refuse to lend me your aid, I am doomed."

He gulped. "What do you want?"

From within his sleeve, Sesshomaru extracted a small spool of silky red thread. "This shall be your tool in your mission. It is a magical fiber that cannot be unknotted once it is tied. Succeed and you can keep it."

The boy nodded vigorously, eyes wide on the promised treasure. "What do I've got to do?"

"Take this cord and measure Kagome's fourth finger of her left hand. It must be the exact size." He explained how to take the length correctly, and repeated the details just in case. "Cut this much thread and bring it to me. It is of vital importance that she does not know the meaning behind your actions. But you must still make sure she cooperates… It must be done with upmost urgency."

Again, Shippo nodded quickly, receiving in his little hands the spool. "I won't disappoint you!" He declared with determination.

"Do not fail me, Shippo."

Later, after dinner, Sesshomaru hid his smirk when Shippo asked Kagome if she knew how to play cat's cradle, to which Kagome answered delighted that yes, indeed she did. When Shippo handed over a long piece of thread tied together at the ends and started playing with her, it was only a matter of time before the whole thing became a mess. Shippo carefully made a knot in the end of a loop on the destined finger, as well as several others. Once he explained it was an un-unknottable string, she giggled, he made a new circle, and they started all over again, this time without a single mistake. The previous was discarded by their side, but both youkai kept a careful eye on it.

Sesshomaru congratulated himself for three feats accomplished at once.

Getting the perfect measurement for Kagome's diamond ring.

Encouraging the trickster to do what he was best at.

And gaining the kitsune's favor. Which he expressed with a wink that Sesshomaru answered with a solemn nod.

Later that night, while Kagome got ready to sleep, Shippo delivered the perfect loop of red string to the taiyoukai, ridden of the messy rest. "That was quite a chunk I had to sacrifice, but I did it!"

"You have done well." He extended his fist, and when he opened it, the fox's eyes shimmered with elation. "I am pleased with your readiness. This reward is to your fastness."

Shippo's little hand snatched the bright blue spool that shone with hues of green. "It's magical too?"

"It is."

"Wow, thanks! I don't know what I could use it for, but it sure's gonna be awesome!"

Indulging a sudden idea, the taiyoukai talked. "I have a suggestion you might want to craft."

The next day, there was a surprising amount of dragonfly figurines made of thick, knotted magical cord laying all around the house.

* * *

Kagome sighed, feeling his arms around her waist. "Snuggler, spooner Sesshomaru…" She murmured with a broadening smile.

He kissed her nape, and she squirmed with a giggle. "Good morning, did you sleep well?"

She turned in his embrace, hiding her face under his chin. "Not as much as I could have. You kept on moving around all night long. Is there something wrong?"

"The furthest from it," he said before kissing her forehead. "Get ready, today Shippo will survey Bokuseno's forest."

She yawned. "Five more minutes?" When his muscles tensed with edginess, she looked up at him. "There _is_ something going on…"

"I cannot see what you mean."

She scrunched her nose. "You're a bad liar… Are you nervous Shippo might not like the place? Don't worry; I'm sure he'll love it."

He sighed. "So I hope."

Actually, he was not nervous about _that_.

* * *

Running, his little paws on dark earth, Shippo traveled the woods, circling the hill as quickly as he could, Sesshomaru close behind.

Finally he came to a stop, finding a river his nose had already detected, and was delighted to see how many perfect white smooth stones were on the brim. "Yep! It'll do!"

"Do we have your approval to begin the edifications?" Inquired seriously the taiyoukai.

"You may proceed!" Chirped cheerfully the boy, "As long as you don't change the river."

The other nodded. "Your specifications will be respected."

"So," murmured the kit in a confidential tone as he jumped on Sesshomaru's shoulder, "you've got it?"

Sesshomaru extracted the gem from within his sleeve, where he had made sure it was at least twenty times.

Shippo, who knew of his plan and why he had been so indispensable, eyed he little object. "That is the thing?"

"A diamond ring, yes."

"It shines a lot, never seen something like it before."

"The stone is foreign, that is why it is difficult to find."

"She's sure gonna like it. You ready?"

"Not yet, there is one more detail I must attend to, and I require your assistance with it as well."

"What is it?"

* * *

Shippo came running to where Kagome sat, between Bokuseno's roots, talking with the demon, when the kitsune took her hand and pulled frantically. "What is it? Did you decide something?" She asked.

"Love the hill, but that's not what's important right now! Come, you've gotta see this!"

To her surprise, he didn't make her walk, just stand. She was confused, but when Sesshomaru emerged from between her trees, she simply got lost.

He was wearing a red silk bowtie. Since there was no shirt collar for it to be attached to, it simply was a red ribbon around his neck, but she immediately got the idea. He knelt, one hand taking her left, and holding something that shimmered in his right. He held her gaze with determination.

"Kagome, would you be my wife?"

Everything was going according to plan; she was gapping, just like Inuyasha had said. Now, she had to start squirming with happiness, except… except she snickered.

Suddenly there was a wild burst of hysterical laugher. She held her sides and laughed so hard tears came, and she fell to her knees.

Sesshomaru was horrified, and almost left in pure shame, but then the laughing became crying, and she tossed herself in his arms, hugging him with all her force. "Yes! Of course! Of course I want to marry you! Yes, yes, yes! Why are you wearing a bowtie? Oh, god, I can't remember the last time I laughed so hard."

The taiyoukai felt like a piece of his soul entered his body again, and took in the breath he had been holding. "Inuyasha said you would deny me if I refused to wear this…"

"He said that!?" She giggled, whipping away the tears. "Oh my god, he must remember that from when Souta asked Hitomi to be his girlfriend, I made him wear a red bowtie then… I can't believe you put that on, this has to be the best day of my life."

"I made sure the ribbon was straight!" Chirped Shippo behind them, and Bokuseno chuckled.

She showered him in kisses, and he held her tightly. Only after a while he realized she hadn't paid the slightest attention to the ring he had gone through so much trouble to get. "Inuyasha also said," he interrupted the many pecks, "you would not accept me unless I gave you a diamond ring."

Kagome started. "You got me a diamond ring!?" When he presented the jewel that he still held tightly in his closed hand, the way her face paled told him he had done something terribly wrong. "… Sesshomaru… _what is that_ …?"

His face showed confusion. "Is this not to your liking? Inuyasha specified it had to be a diamond ring…"

"I helped taking the measurement!" Announced the kit, with smug pride. Kagome looked at him, but she remained stunned.

"Sesshomaru, this is _literally_ a diamond ring…" She took the piece in her hand. A single and regular faceted circle, entirely crystalline, that shone with the most amazing and varied tones, reflecting the light in every direction. "It's… it's a single chunk of diamond… Is this even physically possible?"

"Are you dissatisfied?"

"I think I'm gonna pass out… This can't be right, this… Sesshomaru, this is _A RING MADE OF DIAMOND…_ of _nothing_ but diamond…"

"I am aware, I commissioned from the best jeweler of the West. Is it inadequate?"

"It's… I mean… My family's lifetime earnings couldn't afford this… It's too much; you can't spend this much on me!"

Sesshomaru smiled, taking her hand and sliding the ring that perfectly fit in her finger. "Everything I have is yours, as much as everything I am. Do you dislike the piece?"

"I've never seen something so beautiful…" She whispered in awe, seeing the glimmering circlet. "I can't wear this, I'm too clumsy! What if I lose it! Or if it breaks! Or if I get mugged!"

"My little brother said your mother wore a gold one, would you rather to wear one of that kind?"

"You mean a wedding band? No, those you exchange them during the ceremony, the diamond ring is to announce the engagement."

"Then I fail to see how you find my proposal wanting."

She laughed again, hugging him once more. "I don't find it wanting… I don't think there's been a better proposal before, or will ever be… But I think you might have been a little over the top…"

"Then," he declared, "it is a success."


	19. Plan B

**A/N:** I had to rewrite this chapter so many times I lost count XD Plus I've been so busy these days, since we redecorated my room, and murals don't paint themselves!

As usual, special thanks to _**Kim**_ who is not only the best beta ever, but also a ferret!

* * *

 **Plan B**

Time. Time was an odd thing.

Kagome realized it was subjective, a name for a perception. It was a peculiar thought, but it was the only explanation to the fact some days went by in the blink of an eye, and others dragged like centuries.

That spring it would be nine years. Nine years with both kinds of days ever since she had fallen through the Well for the first time. She had grown to be a woman, filled with the same cheerfulness and hopefulness as before, but more serene, more mature, wounded and healed again. For her, too, time had passed.

For all of them.

Sango, who once looked her age, now definitely seemed like a much older sister. The taijiya blinked, opened her mouth and closed it again. "I don't get it?" She finally confessed.

"We're getting married, not mated. For youkai, I'm just his concubine."

"But… he marked you?"

"Yup!"

Sango wanted to squeak in delight, but at the same time was not entirely pleased with the current status of her best friend's romantic relationship. "And he won't mate you because…"

"Because it would be a political mess, and we have to protect the West _and_ our children," Kagome continued for her, a smile pinned to her face while she spoke as if the arrangement was the most natural thing ever.

"And you're ok with it…"

She bit her lip, but continued to smile. "I want everything of him, and all that has to do with him, but I'll take whatever he can spare… I won't let him put everything in danger just to please me… I'm happy, more than I have ever been, and that's just so weird, since the world was falling apart for me a few days ago…"

Sango eyed the still split lower lip the infamous Yutaka had given her. Considering her enhanced healing from both Inuyasha's and Sesshomaru's marks, it had been inferred that holy powers somehow affected her, even if she had no demon blood in her. "I sure didn't expect you to come back as his recognized concubine…" The taijiya smiled, deciding her friend's bliss was good enough for her. "Tell me all about it!" When Kagome's face became a hilarious shade of red, she giggled. "Ok, so not maybe _all_ about it."

Kagome cleared her throat. "But, Big Sister, who am I going to talk to about it if not you?"

The slayer barked out laughing, taking care of not exerting her still broken arm, at the innocent tone of her friend.

"It really was… I don't know how to describe it," Kagome said, her brow furrowing in thought. "It was like a river held by a dam suddenly breaking free. Once no one was dying or getting kicked out of their houses, it just felt so natural…"

Sango nodded with warmth in her eyes, and allowed her to continue.

"It was like I had been holding back, same for him. Once we had a second together, I knew I wanted it all, that I had loved him for, heck, years now! And I also knew I wanted to enjoy all a life with him had to offer… I'm sure I'm gonna be spending eternity with him, I have no doubts, so… well… when…"

Sango shook her head when she trailed off, amused by her modesty despite being in her mid-twenties and engaged.

Kagome steeled herself. "When I was _with him_ , I asked him not to mark me, that he could do it next time. I wanted to experience as many opportunities of this relationship as possible; do you know what I mean?"

"I think I do, but did _he_?"

"He seemed all too happy to mark me the next time, so I don't think he really minded that much… He's so gentle when he kisses me, but the rest of the time…" She blushed madly, remembering how much of not-killing-your-lover had to be put while they were together. She had to tightly control her holy powers not to harm him, although he insisted he was fine, or she'd never forgive herself; as for him, the deadly claws and demonic strength spoke by themselves. The sense of potential danger, she thought, _had_ to be somewhat… unorthodox… But it was more about knowing that the claws that had slayed through armies for millennia could brush her skin with wicked sensuality, never allowing harm to come to her.

Kagome cleared her head by shaking it, not at all comfortable with reliving intimacies in her mind with her best friend in front of her. "Let's just say… he reminds me he's not human. A lot."

"I would not be surprised; dog demons are a whole deal more physical than humans… But… What I don't get is… why did you put off the wedding until spring? It's not like you aren't living like a married couple already."

"Oh, _that_ … You know things are different in my time. This is the most modern way to do it… Since I skipped the dating part, the 'moving in together before tying the knot' was a must-do… I'm so excited, even if it happened so fast. I know we'll have the rest of our lives to get to know each other, so it's fine…"

"And the proposal thing?" Kagome had talked so quickly the first time she explained the latest news that she had caught very few bits of information.

Kagome snorted, holding mirth back when remembering the almighty Western Lord wearing a bow tie. "It was so perfect, so natural, so… honest…"

Sango whistled when her friend showed the obscenely extravagant engagement ring she had gotten and that dangled on a braided cord around her neck.

"Why aren't you wearing it?"

"I'm afraid I'm gonna break it or lose it. I'd never forgive myself."

"And the cord?"

"Do you remember how many times that chain I had the Shikon no Tama in broke and it ended up flying? There's no way I'll let that happen with this rock, nu-huh, even if the strengthened double-fortified cord is a less glamorous option."

It was Sango's turn to snicker. "I would greatly have appreciated you choosing the less glamorous option back while we hunted shards…"

* * *

Shippo growled in frustration, teeth clenched, paws buried in the snow. The sense of defeat that had been building in him was about to explode any time now, especially when the only word that had escaped his tutor's mouth was 'again'.

Bo-chan, his trusty wooden sword, swung while he repeated the exercise for what had to be the thousandth time. He paid as much attention to his every movement as he possibly could. Once he returned to his initial position, letting out a sip of air, hearing Sesshomaru repeat his apparent favorite word made him snap. "How many times do I have to repeat the same dumb thing?" He spat with outrage, suddenly regretting his harsh tone as soon as he was finished.

Sesshomaru's lazy eyes set on the kitsune. "As many times as it is necessary."

He pouted. "But you've got any corrections or anything? This is so boring."

Sesshomaru knelt by his tiny form. "Shippo, what will you be once you've grown to have your fourth tail?"

The boy was disoriented by the change it topic. "I-I don't know, I'll be the best kitsune ever," he replied, both parts of his answer contradicting each other.

"This is training for your future duty. This Sesshomaru considers you would be perfect for a certain position that needs filling, but only a skilled swordsman can attain such responsibilities."

"Y-you mean… working for the Western Palace?"

Sesshomaru leaned conspiratorially, looking at both sides before beckoning the kit closer. "No. Anyone could attend such a right. This, however, is a job much closer to me and all I protect. It would make you my second in command."

Shippo almost choked on his own tongue. "You _mean_ it?"

The taiyoukai stood proud and tall, "Do I seem hesitant?"

"But what about Kagome! And Inuyasha!"

He shook his head. "Kagome will attend to the village matters, and do you believe my brother could handle the responsibilities of being my right hand?"

The little demon chuckled. "He can't do diplomacy, can he?"

"This is a role only you can fill. I will wait for as long as I must for you to be ready, but it is essential that you set to train to meet the high expectations that obviously come with such a task."

He nodded with determination, fully resolute to be up to the challenge. He began the exercise again, only to be stopped by the dog demon's voice. "I believe you have mastered this particular kata. We can move on to the next one."

* * *

"Kirara's acting weird since you came back," Kohaku noted.

Kagome stopped her petting, her fingers still entwined in the fur of the madly purring nekomata. "Now that you mention it, she's really snuggly lately."

"Only with you!" Mused the kitsune, and the fire cat meowed begging the miko to continue with her ministrations.

"Sesshomaru, do you know what could be up with her?"

The taiyoukai leaned low, scrutinizing the kitten, when Kirara peeped up and liked his nose. He quirked a brow. "I can only assume she is congratulating you."

"Is that it?" She looked down, and the nekomata purred again, louder, rubbing her cheek against her hand. "Are you happy for us, Kirara?"

The joyous expression on the kitten didn't flicker, but, if capable of communicating with words, she would have explained that was not it. But it didn't really matter.

* * *

"I have an enquire."

She looked up at him. She was sitting between his legs, her head resting on his shoulders, while they both looked at the falling snow. "What is it?"

"Once I returned you were wondering where I was, considering the first snow had arrived. Why did you expect me on that date?"

Kagome smiled. "Because when we you found me it was snowy. I thought you would check up on me because it was our anniversary."

"Anniversary?"

"Yep, of meeting."

"We had met before, many times in fact."

She kissed the underline of his jaw. "Not like that." He inclined his head, not understanding, and she continued. "You saved my life at least three times before, but this time… This time I wasn't busy being afraid of you, or surprised, or confused… That time… you gave me peace… And no one else in the world could have done that."

When he smiled against her cheek, she went on. "I think I fell in love with you when you carried me away. Or at least I started to. You were like… surreal."

"Truly?" She nodded. "While I carried you? So soon?" She shrugged with a smile, declaring herself guilty. "In my case, it occurred much later… while I healed your fingertips of the frostnip and you caressed my lips. Nothing had ever felt so delightful."

She giggled. " _This Sesshomaru_ really thought I wasn't pretty when half naked?" She enquired with a playful whimper.

He nuzzled her neck. "This Sesshomaru lied."

* * *

"Huh?" A slap and Myouga's flattened form fell like a leaf down to the floor, while Inuyasha scratched his recently assaulted neck. "Hey, it's you, old flea. What's up?"

Jumping back to life, arranging the extremely heavy cargo he carried compared to his diminutive size, the tiny youkai cleared his throat, his beak moving. "Milord Inuyasha! I got Kagome's letter, and then heard rumors from the boar demons so I rushed to see it with my own two eyes! They said the Western Lord took the Shikon Miko as his concubine, I couldn't believe it when I heard it!"

Inuyasha's ears crooked. "Yeah, it's true. You can scram if that was it."

"But I have so many questions! Also, I brought this, the pieces Kagome commissioned from Totousai."

The hybrid received the bundle, which clinked on his palm, and he immediately knew what was inside. "Why didn't that good for nothing old blacksmith deliver these himself?"

"He heard the rumors too and feared his presence here could endanger his life! He, same as me, had many questions…"

"Questions?"

"I want to hear the details, of course!"

The hanyou's face turned an almost purplish shade of red, and he looked away. "Well, I'm not up to the date with the particulars, you stupid old flea…"

The youkai's bulbous eyes widened in shock. "You're not?"

"Keh! Of course not, why should I know the _details_ of that!?"

"Well… tell me how it happened?"

Inuyasha was almost boiling in rage suddenly. "WELL, I DON'T KNOW HOW IT HAPPENED, IT JUST DID! SO JUST LEAVE IT ALONE!"

Myouga squeaked in terror, and quickly bowed low to beg for his pardon. "Forgive me, milord! I simply wanted to hear of the prowess! I'd just settle if you told me, is your half-brother still alive?"

"Huh? Why would he not be? That's pretty much the point of all this."

Myouga cringed, horrified. "I would never expect, master Inuyasha," he said with bitter disappointment in his voice, "that you would challenge your only relative for his birthright and keep him purposely alive to see what you took away from him… It is too cruel." The flea placed his chin in his hand, thoughtfully. "I cannot deny the irony in it, since he defied your property too, and the rest sounds like something he'd do."

Inuyasha cocked his head dramatically. "What the hell are you talking about! I didn't defy him for his birthright!"

Myouga's little face scrunched. "But… Kagome?"

"She's with Sesshomaru, what's it got to do with me?"

His eyes widened. "Kagome?"

"Yeah."

"With Sesshomaru-sama?"

"Yes!"

" _Her_?"

"Are you deaf or are you just dumb?"

"She's with _him_!?"

"You find it easier to believe I took the West away from my brother than he and Kagome are together!?"

Myouga blinked, realizing the reminded of their half shared parentage had been forgotten, his face turning to the side, where Kagome passed by chatting with the taiyoukai and holding his hand. It didn't go unnoticed by the little flea that two golden orbs were smugly fixed on him, having heard what the younger one had voiced.

"Actually… I do."

* * *

Kagome extended a silk wrapped bundle, a modest pinkness on her cheeks, and her fiancé tilted his head. "Merry Christmas," she whispered.

She had never, in the years they spent together, forgotten this specific festivity, which she counted a few weeks after the first snow. There were always presents, although mostly edibles. A gift meant to be kept was new.

"Saturnalia is not celebrated until a few days past," he said with a smile.

"Is it? Well, we'll have an early Christmas this year, then." Here eyebrows lifted and her chin pointed at the package, which he opened with protocolled meticulousness. He extracted a smaller pouch that tingled when he moved it, and a wooden and inexpertly carved toy. He took the figurine first, seeing a dog with a grin carved on, a blue irregular moon atop of its head instead of the brow.

"Shippo." He voiced with a smirk, and she nodded brightly. "He does not fear me anymore," he traced with a clawtip the upturned smile on the statuette, which was adorned with two vertical lines heading down to resemble his fangs.

"You don't think that's bad, do you?"

"Not in the slightest."

He moved to open the little sack, and his smile widened, seeing the two golden bands he knew were necessary to complete their rite of marriage. "I figured," she said nervously, "that since you took care of the engaging, I could take care of the bands. S'only fair." She eyed him suspiciously. "You hadn't gotten them already, did you?"

He looked down at her, and blinked, not finding the will to lie. "I commissioned them the very day you mentioned they were traditionally given during the ceremony."

She smacked him across the shoulder, playfully. "Why are you always a step ahead of me! Oh, it doesn't matter. We can use these if we renew our vows."

His eyebrow rose. "Renew our vows?"

"Yep, we get married again after many years, to show we'd do it all again."

"Many years?"

"Usually after ten… Considering we'll be together a few thousands of years, maybe we should do it every century, or we'll dry the world out of gold. What do you think?"

He nodded. "It is appropriate."

"Then you take care of those two for the next hundred years."

He kissed her forehead and she smiled, feeling the butterflies fluttering in her stomach. "I must confess," he murmured. "That I have a gift for you as well."

Her head jerked up from its place on his shoulder. "You didn't have to get me anything!"

"Mate, I have felt the desire of gracing you with courting offerings for years now. Would you deny this?"

She smiled. "Ok, I'll accept your gift if it means _so_ much for you," she said with feign sarcastic disinterest.

She suddenly found herself against his chest, and he kissed her heatedly. When she stepped away to breathe, she realized they were in Bokuseno's evergreen forest.

He didn't allow her to talk, but pulled her through the trees, stopping when a well advanced construction came in sight. She gasped, both hands on her mouth. "How! When!"

"Youkai workforces are quick."

"But it's been less than a month!"

"And it will be finished before the next season. Would you like to see the inside? The paper panels are not yet placed."

She shook her head, a bright smile on her face. "Nope! I want to see it finished. Let it be a surprise. We can move in the very day of our wedding!"

"What if the structure is not to your liking?"

She pulled his earlobe softly. "Sesshomaru this is _our home_ , how could I not love it?"

He caressed her cheek, and sighed when a rumbling voice filled the air. "I do not love it," complained Bokuseno. "I can't see anything but walls around me!"

* * *

Her stomach felt like a butterflies piñata, and she swallowed. Sango patted her obi to indicate she was done, and Kagome took a moment to appreciate her handiwork.

Despite it was white, the kimono was embroidered with overwhelming attention to detail. The silver threads that drew cranes across the fabric shimmered in the light, and she smiled.

"It's the prettiest bridal kimono ever, Kagome-chan!"

Her friend blushed. "It's a gift from Sesshomaru. This and…" she eyed her little closet in her bedroom in the taijiya mansion, overflowing with boxes of silk. She let out an awkward giggle. "And the others."

"He knows how to pamper a girl! You couldn't stop him from giving you all this, could you?"

She looked down at the _literal diamond ring_ on her finger. "He sure gave me a lot of silk considering he likes my miko clothes better… I think he might have been showing off. Just a little."

Sango laughed, a hand placed on her barely swollen pregnant belly. "Well, you might as well enjoy it. There's so much to choose from here, I think you can change twenty times today and not wear the same layer twice."

Kagome's smile broadened. "I think that was his intention, but I told him I wanted to enjoy the party, and that I would wear just two throughout the day… I'm almost sure he pouted when I said that."

Sango's giggle filled the room, and Rin placed the delicate white kanzashi on Kagome's hair. "This is a very pretty flower arrangement, I've sure never seen one before."

"They'll come into fashion in about a hundred years. My mom wore one like this on her wedding day…"

The change in tone in her voice made the taijiya look at her daughter and then at her friend, almost jumping when she discovered her crying. "Kagome-chan? What is it? What's wrong?"

When the slayer's arms circled her shoulders, she snuggled her closer. "Nothing, I'd just… I'd just wish my mom was here…"

* * *

"Inuyasha! I found him, I found him!" The kit jumped on the taiyoukai's shoulder, big eyes shining. "We thought you'd be late!"

"Where did ya go!?" howled the hanyou, pointing at him with the red parasol he was in charge of, looking odd in his luxurious azure kimono. "It's almost time; I've been looking for you since this morning!"

Sesshomaru barely heard him. He sat by the river, and Inuyasha interpreted his silence as something more than disregard.

"Shippo, are the bands safe?"

The fox presented both golden rings with a proud smile. "I even polished them!"

"Well done."

"Mind telling what's got you all whinny now?" Howled Inuyasha, causing Shippo to glare at him.

"Tomorrow," was the only word he received in answer.

The hanyou and the kitsune looked at each other confused, but understanding dawned in the mind of the half-breed. "Tomorrow!? You're doing it tomorrow!?"

"Doing what?" Inquired the fox.

Sesshomaru nodded. "She talked of stages, so today she shall be my wife. Come morrow, she will be my mate."

Inuyasha looked at him. He was wearing formal black, and looked more different than ever.

Shippo perched on the taiyoukai's shoulder, eyes shining bright. "You're gonna mate her?"

Sesshomaru nodded absentmindedly, redirecting his eyes to Inuyasha. "The oath I made to you _will_ be respected."

"She's gonna kill you for that, ya know?" The other answered with a smirk.

"She will understand it was the obvious choice… that there was no choice at all."

In Shippo's mind understanding dawned quickly, and his little hand patted affectionately the inu-youkai's shoulder, with almost a paternal air. "M'proud of you, Sesshomaru." The recipient of the flattery turned to him with a quirked brow, becoming only more surprised when he detected the hanyou had a look of complete agreement on his face.

"What ya looking at?" He suddenly spat. "He's right, you're doing the right thing." Arms folded on his chest, the closed umbrella propped on his shoulder, and a scrunched expression, he mumbled almost painfully. "I'm proud of ya, too."

"You have finally lost your mind."

A not-too-strong punch to the shoulder from a smirking Inuyasha. "Asshole."

* * *

The house had been finished for over a week, but Kagome really wanted to move in the night of their wedding. "For good luck," she had said, and despite it made little sense for Sesshomaru, he respected her wishes.

Now, she was biting her lip, almost jumping in delight, a grin on her face. And he was pleased he had waited. "Do you have no comments to the size?"

"Nope! Bokuseno-sama said it was kind of a youkai community we would have here, so the bigger, the better! We're gonna host a lot of people!"

"Maintenance could be troublesome."

"Remember our deal, no servants! This is my house, and I'll take good care of it!"

He nodded. "If that is what you wish…"

She elbowed him, "C'mon, I'm sure your faithful subjects will like to get some personalized political asylum when things get bad… Besides, with so many guests, every day's gonna be an adventure! Being a housewife's not gonna be boring at all!"

Sesshomaru gulped, but she didn't notice. She pulled his hand and went through the threshold, leaving her fine geta behind. She turned with a smile, which the taiyoukai returned as he took off his boots, and she began her investigation.

"This is our house!"

"It is."

"It's our _home_!"

He nuzzled her neck, and she leaned into her husband's touch, caressing his cheek with a left hand that sported a golden circlet. "Are you pleased?"

"Big, beautiful, modest, continent-influenced" she knocked on a dark beam. "Sturdy! It's perfect. C'mon, let's see it all!"

She explored the house, said hi to Bokuseno, who rested in the middle of the buildings, and she chirped in delight when she guessed which room belonged to who, since little details rendered them special and unique, made only for their owners.

Inuyasha's, Jinenji's, Jaken's, and even Kirara's, who would move in with them after Kohaku's mortal life came to an end. Finally, they made it to Shippo's bedroom.

She looked in awe at the beautiful painting of a blue-green forest that carpeted hills, and smiled at the three columns written in delicate and bold calligraphy.

 _Second tail to last,_

 _Fox and dog share no blood, but_

 _Our fangs are the same._

"You wrote this?"

"I did," he confessed. "A proper welcome to a new residence."

She took his hand. "I bet he's gonna love it. I think he's got a growing case of hero worshiping with you since his 'mission', you know?"

He smirked, and she pulled his hand to the next room.

She eyed the painting, only the second she had found asides from the kitsune's. It was a fine depiction of an open birdcage hanging from a blooming cherry branch, a swallow venturing away, and a pale crescent moon behind the red flowers.

There was no poem for this one, so Kagome was clueless. "This is… our room?"

"No, it is not."

After a while, she shrugged, giving Sesshomaru a side look, noticing his hardly hidden smile. "Ok, you got me, I give up. Whose room is this?"

She was surprised when the door slid closed and his hand held her waist, pressing her to his body. "We will discuss these matters come morn. Now, there is one more room you must see."

"Is there?"

"Ours."

* * *

Sesshomaru caressed her cheek, and her eyes fluttered open. Her smile was bright and peaceful, and he found himself more in love with her than ever. "I must leave, but I promise to return before noon."

She sat on the bed, the sight of her pale, bare skin making his heartbeat quicken. "Where are you going?"

"There is one more thing that must be taken care of." When she opened her mouth to protest, his lips found her forehead. "Do not make me spoil the surprise, Kagome. I will tell you if you insist, but known I have planned this for a while now."

She leaned back, feeling the silk sheets caressing her body. "Ok, I trust you. That's not how I expected to start our honeymoon, but if you say it's for the best…"

He couldn't repress it, and soon found himself kissing softly her left shoulder, where his mark was sported with pride. "It is."

* * *

Her lips twisted in a dangerous smile, purplish rouge framing flashing fangs. "Is this truly what you wish?"

His eyes never wavered. He gave a curt nod, and his chin lifted with pride.

"You cannot back down on a decision like this."

"This Sesshomaru would never do such thing."

"If you are sure…" Lazily lying on her throne, the demoness' hand moved dismissively. "Then, Sesshomaru, I bereave you of your title. You are now disinherited, and I have no choice but to exile you from the Western Fortress. Be gone, this is no longer your house. And you are no longer my son."


	20. Fly me to the moon

_**AUTHOR'S NOTE, PLEASE READ!**_

 **Okay, for starters, happy holidays!** Consider this a little present in the shape of a mini-chapter that is relevant for the plot, but also almost _**100% graphic**_. Yep, citrus scented, lemon flavored, lime colored. If you'd prefear to **not** read it, I'll try to repeat most of the important information in the next one, which I guess is coming rather soon considering how much of a shortie this was (I already have it pretty much written).

 _ **ALSO, AND THIS IS IMPORTANT**_ : I have decided I'm addicted to reviews, an although we already **SEVEN THOUSAND AND THREE HUNDRED VIEWS** (may we say WOW?), I've noticed my review-gluttony isn't nearly close to satisffied. So I'm gonna ask for a little favor: I'll publish a new chapter chapter **ONLY** after the current one has _**at least two reviews**_. If you just post "yay" that still counts, it's just that I'm too happy when I get a review notification e-mail XD I know I'm not asking to much because I can always trust **Adomani and sam-u-knw** to make me smile with their reviews ^^

Again, I hope you had a merry whatever-the-hell-you-celebrate. I sure did! I hope you enjoy the smutty action and seeing Kagome happy out of her mind for a change! :D

As usual, special thanks to **_Kim_** who is not just the best beta ever, but also very true to her believes, and doesn't read pr0n... hence, this is a beta-free chapter. Don't go too hard on me, please...

* * *

 **Fly me to the moon**

Sesshomaru was pleased with the fact that he was over with it in just a couple of hours. He floated, enveloped in his own youki, landing in the great meadow where Bokuseno rested, circled by buildings.

The knotty face smiled faintly at him, and the taiyoukai nodded, acknowledging the silent approval, walking back into the wing where the rooms he shared with his wife were.

Just the gleam in the old tree's eyes told him everything. He knew what he had done, had actually known it would be so for a while now. And he agreed with it.

It was the same eloquent twinkle his mother had when he explained his intentions.

He followed his nose, looking for his spouse, the one creature who could ever make leave it all behind just for her sake. He realized immediately she was not in the master bedroom, and her track led him into the other chambers.

She was inside the room with the cage and flowers painting, where the swallow flew away from its imprisonment. She was wearing only one layer of white silk that hugged her body, taking advantage of the fact the rest of their adoptive family wouldn't be moving in until the end of the week.

She had felt his presence, and leaned against his chest when he was close enough. "This room," she said with a tone filled with softness and tenderness, "is going to be our son's, isn't it?"

He nuzzled her hair. "If Bokuseno's words were true. Else, our first born daughter."

She turned, and the look in her eyes confused him. She was scowling, disordered. "I thought we had agreed we wouldn't have kids, because…" She trailed off, feeling extremely stupid mid-sentence, realizing she was fighting something she wanted more than anything.

"I have abdicated."

Her dark brown eyes widened, and soon glimmered with tears. Her breath had caught, and she had to swallow hard before speaking. "You did what?"

He caressed her cheek and spoke softly. "I have _abdicated_."

He laughed softly at her expression. Suddenly she was crying, hugging him, kissing his cheeks. "Why did you do that!? You didn't have to! Are you crazy!?"

His lips brushed her forehead. "Do you believe the choice was not evident?" Suddenly, a thought stung his mind, and he placed his hands on her shoulders. "Are you dissatisfied?"

She smacked his arm, before hugging him with as much strength as she had. "You think I was after you're title? Why did you do that? I can't believe it…"

"Because…" He caressed her hair, holding her softly. "My soul is incomplete if not merged with yours."

She looked up at him in shock. "You wanna mate me? For real?"

He nodded, brushing his cheeks to her, leaning down to kiss her left shoulder. "If you are to accept me…"

He could feel her widening smile without seeing it, and soon her hand had entwined with his, and she pulled him, taking on a light jog through the corridors, giggling and looking back at her smirking husband, until they made it to their room.

As soon as she closed the door, she found herself pinned against the panel, being kissed hungrily, moaning against his lips, feeling his hands travel her body.

Her arms circled his neck, and she laughed softly when he literally swept her off of her feet to carry her to the large futon they shared.

He lowered her carefully, stretching over her, and she left a feather-like peck on the tip of his nose. "I love you," she said with a joyous tone.

"Would you forgive me, then?"

"For what?"

"For plotting my stepping off the throne without your knowledge. I decided to do so as soon as you agreed to be my concubine. You spoke the truth when addressing the dangers of illegitimacy."

She smiled. "There's nothing to forgive… Now, I believe I was promised to mate a certain taiyoukai… mind explaining how that works?"

He sat up straight, being soon followed by her. Kagome straddled his hips, and purposely pressed herself against him. He held back a groan. "I must mark you again, but this time, I will draw blood."

She seemed curious and excited. "Why is that?"

"That way, your blood will flow through me, and we shall be one."

She nodded, grinning brightly. "Ok. Do it."

His hand rose to hold hers, which rested on his chest, and he looked at her. "There is more to it."

For a faint second Kagome saw it there, and her smile widened with such sweetness Sesshomaru felt his heart swell. "You're nervous…"

He caressed her cheek with his knuckles. "I fear."

That made Kagome frown with worry. "What are you afraid of?"

"Your dread."

"Sesshomaru, I know you'd never hurt me… Why do you think I'd be afraid of you?"

He took a slow breath. "I am not human. I differ of your species not only in abilities and appearance. Inside me there is a beast. It has power over the instinct and the emotions, while what you see, the civil half, controls the logic and the reasoning. My father used to refer this dual nature as 'The Dog and The Man'."

"The Dog is when you transform, obviously, right?" He nodded.

"It can happen involuntarily, when I lose grip of my wrath, mostly. We coexist in harmony. One mind, two temperaments, and two bodies. If I were to mate a taiyoukai, I would do so in my other appearance… Since this Sesshomaru is as much The Dog as he is The Man, you will be mated to both at the same time. To achieve that, we will share and probably struggle for dominance of the body while mating you… Meaning I will not be my rather usual self."

"But that's not quite true… You'll be twice as you!"

He smiled, visibly relaxing. "Yes, one could say that."

"That have something to do with you referring yourself in the third person?"

He thought for a second. "No, it does not."

She giggled. "Ok, just had to ask…"

Again, his knuckles brushed her face, soon following the same trail with soft open-mouthed kisses, leaving behind a path of fire. She moaned and rolled her hips against his without realizing, causing him to groan and hold her tighter.

He slowly undid her improvised obi and slid white silk off her shoulders. His claws caressed her skin, and she felt a jolt of pleasure shoot across her. She loved them almost as much as she loved the fangs.

Her scent intoxicated him. His absolute bliss over finally taking Kagome as his mate was evident, since his kisses ran down her neck in the shape of a smile.

She bit her lip when he made it to the mark and licked her skin with slow, velvety strokes. Kagome moaned loudly while his fangs teasingly scraped the scars, and her pelvis shifted again, begging for closer contact of the only male she had known and who had thoroughly learnt her body during the last few months.

He had to hold back his shiver when she pulled him, laying herself on her back, her husband over her, still trapped between her knees.

His mouth caught her chest, and with fangs and tongue her breasts fell victim of his tortuously slow ministrations.

Suddenly, she gasped when he sucked hard, and she buried her hands in his hair, arching her back. He looked up at her, and when she met his eyes, she discovered they were a vibrant blood crimson. His irises remained gold, and she could remember quite well they turned blue whenever The Dog took over completely. There was also a warmth in his heated gaze, although he didn't stop for one second. She bit her lower lip playfully. "So… you're The Dog."

She cried out in ecstasy when his clawed hand found the vertex between her legs, not so gently sliding inside it. With rather quick motions, The Dog brought her to her peak in just mere moments, and while panting, she breathed a smile. "Nice to meet you too…!"

He shot her a smirk, his lips still covering one taut peak, and she flushed a darker shade of red.

She caressed a jarred cheek-stripe, and he rose from over her body, kneeling straight between her mile long legs, and purred in pleasure as she began to undress him with her timid little hands.

They had slept together every single night for over three months now, both literally and metaphorically, and she still felt shy and coy. He loved that.

Skin against skin, he resumed his task of getting to know the body the civilized half had already memorized.

Her head fell back as his hands explored her form, her eyes rolling into her head, her breath growing shakier with a new wave of anticipation, since he had decided oral exploration was his way to go.

After a few minutes, she tugged gently at his hair, asking him for a break before she lost all ability to think straight, and she sat up, caressing his cheek. "Remember our deal? I get to mark you back," she said, trying not to pant.

He nodded. "Do as you please," he answered in a husky tone that was a bit deeper and more vibrating, but not as much as the one time she had heard him talk in his demonic form.

Kagome grinned. She crawled away for a second, the sight of her nude body in that position screaming all of his canine instincts awake again, and returning with the white flower ornament she had worn the day before, which still lied on the floor with all of their clothes.

She took his hand, and he curiously watched as she pierced his finger with the metallic bronze tip of the kanzashi, a single drop of blood appearing on his pale skin.

She quickly set her tool aside, and turned her attention to the already healing wound. Her tongue wrapped around his digit, and she sucked slowly, savoring his life fluid, moving her head in the most arousing way he had ever seen, and he couldn't avoid his mind going to not so innocent places at the sight she made.

A few seconds later, even despite her attempts to keep it open for just a while longer, the wound closed, and she bit her lip. "Now your blood runs in me."

The Dog almost completely took over, instinct howling, and he communicated his intentions while kissing her with mad passion. Without wasting another second, he took hold of her hips, rearranging their bodies to be on her again, and in one rapid motion, he was flush against her, and Kagome cried out in pleasure, feeling her husband completely sheathed in her body.

He begun to move slowly at first, kissing her calf, but as the need grew stronger, he fastened his thrusts, meeting his wife's pelvis and building up a sense of expectation in her that soon found its relief when he lifted her hips and reached an especially sensitive spot.

But he had no mercy on her. He kept on going, and Kagome moaned louder and louder, to the point where she was almost screaming.

He grabbed her waist, and pulled her up, moving her with his hands while she rested on his tights, hugging his neck and digging her nails in his back, holding for dear life, as if he would disappear if she let go.

Sesshomaru had no intention of going anywhere. He sped up, and when he finally felt his own end approaching, he sank his fangs on her tender flesh.

This time, Kagome did scream. But the pain swirled and mixed with pleasure easily, causing her to soar again, crying out once more, only this time she did so mutely, shaking against the crook of his neck as her husband found his own peak after feeling her tighten in aftershocks around his length and the coppery flavor of her blood.

The miko held her breath for a moment, since she was seeing black around the edges. Once she came back to earth, she felt Sesshomaru's tongue licking the wound, which closed thanks to his saliva.

After he was done with his task, his scarlet and golden eyes met hers. "We are mated."

She smiled and kissed his lips with excitement and tenderness. Slowly, he set her down, and she whimpered at the sense of loss when he left her body.

Sesshomaru's eyes were darkened, although back to normal. "I apologize. I bit you with more force than intended."

She looked up at him. He was sitting, arms on his knees, staring at the wall. "I forgot it hurt at all. When you lick me you don't only heal me, it also takes the pain away."

He turned to her and caressed her cheek. "Could you forgive me?"

She bit her lip. "On one condition… you're gonna have to make sure the mark took hold at least a few more times, 'cause I liked getting to know The Dog too…"

He smiled weakly, and she almost complained that he didn't believe she really hadn't mind the biting part. Something happened, however, and she gasped. "I can feel it!"

He laid down next to her, entwining his fingers with her own, his head resting on his other hand. "I can feel it, too."

"It's like you were hugging me. It feels so gentle."

"Our souls change. They are amalgamating."

"Does this change something, or is it the same as with the first mark?"

He smirked. "A couple of things change. For starters, we share the same scent now."

"Do we?" He almost wondered why she was questioning his words, when he understood what she was trying to do.

He sniffed in her direction. "Fairly similar. Although you are probably right. We should repeat this rite, just to make sure."

She kissed the indigo moon on his brow. "Yep, we should."


	21. Collateral damage

**Collateral damage**

Inuyasha felt like he had been kicked in the balls.

No. Worse. _Far worse._

A pressing sensation in his stomach warned him he was about to vomit, sweat dripped from his brow, his mouth felt dry, all color had drained from his face, and a rhythmic hammering roared in his temples.

His claws dug in the wood of the beam, holding for dear life, fearing to just fall dead right there and then if he didn't clung to something, _anything_ to make sure he was still on earth.

Kagome's smile vanished from her face in a second and she ran by his side, placing a hand on his shoulder, which was answered with a start from the hanyou, almost making her back away.

"Inuyasha! What's wrong!? You look like you've seen a ghost! Jinenji, go get some water!"

It took a moment for her words to make sense, but he finally managed to pull himself together, and shook his head. "I'm fine, wench. Just got dizzy."

Kagome saw him walk in, following Shippo, who completely ignored his moment of utter devastation in favor of offering a tour to the group. Her eyes remained weary, preoccupied, and her fingers entwined with Sesshomaru's, who was still mute by her side.

"What you think's wrong with him? I was just welcoming them to their new home…"

"Little brother."

"Huh?"

"You called him 'little brother'."

* * *

"Inuyasha?"

He couldn't distinguish them anymore. Although Kagome had gotten some of his scent when he marked her years ago, and vice versa, this time it all had changed. Now, his smell was completely gone of her, and Sesshomaru's stench was so perfectly mixed with her own aroma that it was completely impossible to tell one of the other by smell alone.

Every single time Kagome's perfume made it to his nose, he was reminded.

For fucks sakes, she was _mated_.

He had had years to prepare for it, talked about it with his brother at least a dozen times… But when realization finally struck him, he was still woefully unready.

It had been a week since he and the others had moved in to Bokuseno's forest, and Inuyasha was already sure he'd die any minute now just of having to see Kagome mated or calling him _little brother._

When he didn't answer, she spoke again, a little louder this time. "Inuyasha?"

"What is it, wench?"

"Umh, can't sleep?"

"You know I don't sleep tonight."

She looked up at the moonless sky, then back at her friend. "And you know I like to keep you company while you're human."

He bit his tongue, trying to hold back the venomous words he almost spat. How could she care? Shouldn't she be sharing her mate's bed right now? "I'm okay."

"Can I sit with you?"

After a long minute, he shrugged, and scooped aside in the wooden step that divided the main building from one of the gardens. She dropped by him.

Silence settled awkwardly.

"You should go to sleep. My brother's gonna be worried."

She shook her head. "Nah, Sesshomaru knows I came to check on you."

"You're babysitting me?"

She giggled; a sound that sent needles and warmth through him. "Haven't I always?"

He smirked. "Fair enough."

"Why are you so… _cranky_ lately?" The hanyou swallowed, and shrugged again. "C'mon. You know you can tell me."

"S'just… I…" He sighed. "That's it. You're mated. You're spending the next ten thousand years with Sesshomaru… I mean, come on! _Sesshomaru_?"

Kagome smiled. "He's not so bad. You'd like him if you got to know him."

The hanyou groaned. "I got one hundred and fifty years of getting to know him. I'm ok where I am… Now you gon' have pups, and they're gonna be annoying me all the time. It's kinda clashing."

She smiled. "Since we're gonna spend several millennia together and I'm _not_ interested in being a baby factory, also considering I could have a kid a year, we've decided to have some time for ourselves. There's no hurry, kids will arrive when they arrive. No biological clock is ticking, no mother or in laws demanding grandchildren… We'll be just the two of us for a while, so don't worry about noisy niblings."

Inuyasha snorted and shook his head, but his eyes turned somber again.

The miko let out an exhalation, and scooted closer. "I thought we were over this."

"And I told you I _can't_ get over this," he admitted after a minute.

"You should _try_."

He looked away from her. "That's beside the point. You're mated now. That's it for you and me. Forever… Now it's over for good, no matter what."

"Inuyasha…"

"I know, I know, but… hell, there's nothing more to do about it. I'm your little brother now. Forever."

She leaned against his shoulder. "You're my best friend."

His head came to rest on hers. "I know, wench. Nothing's gonna change that."

* * *

Kagome cleaned her hands in the linen cloth she kept close and looked up "What is it?"

Jinenji's huge blue eyes were fixed on the garden's door, and Kagome suddenly felt several demonic presences.

Jaken scrambled to his feet and quickly stood between his mistress and the entrance, weary of whatever would come.

A large, furry flash tackled the miko, way faster than the kappa's reflexes, and Kagome found herself subdued to a fire cat that licked her face with a raspy warm tongue. "Kirara! What are you doing here?"

Kohaku's chuckle rang across the little plantation, and Kagome sat up to see the taijiya boy, wearing his uniform. Next to him, was Rin. "We've got you a surprise…"

The priestess came to the teens and hugged them. "What is it guys? Everything's ok, right?"

"Yeah, don't worry. We just ran into some people that you might want to meet."

Kohaku took a step aside, revealing over a dozen youkai, who were guided by a very annoyed Sesshomaru. "Oh, dear…"

"Yep, that's right," the boy announced.

"They came to our village, since they knew youkai were well received there. Kohaku was casually visiting, and he offered to join me so we could bring them here safely," Rin explained.

An elder tortoise demon walked little steps towards the miko, and bobbed her head with a curt reverence. "Jewel Priestess, I am Naang Tao. This is my people. We are of the south of the continent and we seek asylum," the youkai declared in broken Japanese.

Kagome used the opportunity to take in the lady. Her skin was green-brownish and so wrinkled it reminded her of Bokuseno's face. Two sparkling black eyes shone like beads. Her nose was, if a nose at all, completely flat, and her upper lip ended in a black tip in the middle. Scales began on her cheeks and covered most of her body. A bright red turban enveloped her bald head, and she was draped in orange and blue, wearing something similar to a sari.

However, what was most notorious about her was not the large shell on her back, or her turtle-like face. The set of bronze rings that circled her neck, showing its inhuman longitude, were her most remarkable trait. Kagome had seen pictures of tribal women that wore those neck-lengtheners back in her era, and she knew immediately that they came from Southern Asia, maybe even Oceania.

"Hello, Lady Naang Tao, I'm Kagome. This will be your home if so you wish. If you want just to make a stop before leaving again, you are also welcomed." The priestess turned to look at her niece. "Rin, were they evicted by Yutaka and his group of mass murderers?"

"Seems like it, although it also looks like Yutaka isn't their leader after all."

Kagome frowned, but her hand rose. "We'll discuss that later. Right now, these people need to rest and eat something… Jinenji, let's make some of that amazing miso soup of yours."

* * *

The tea was steaming, and Naang Tao began her story. It had taken them months to make it to the Plains of Mushin, to find the Shikon Miko, and arrive to a sanctuary.

Being a group of lesser demons, they had suffered tremendous blows. Of the original seventy three that departed from Thailand, as far as the miko could deduce, only sixteen had arrived to their destination.

"We met many too many demon killers," murmured with her raspy voice the tortoise matriarch. "The more humans, the more hunters there are. We hurt not one person and yet we are chased. Many too many we lost too."

"And why do you say Yutaka isn't their leader?"

"We saw many leaders. They travel in small groups, but seem organized. The kill us on sight."

"So none of them gave you a name? Asked you at least civilly to vacant the area?"

The demoness shook her head. "Only promise of death."

* * *

Once Naang Tao was taken to one of the guests' cabins, Kagome returned to sit by the fire.

Both Inuyasha and Sesshomaru had decided to patrol the forest, in case the traveling party had been followed.

Shippo snuggled by Kirara, and his twitching tail showed everyone's discomfort.

"They don't even hide behind law anymore…" Jinenji's voice was weak, filled with angst.

"There's gotta be some way to stop them."

"I...!" Rin interjected immediately, making faces turn to her. After a moment, she continued. "I think there's a solution…"

Kagome's head cocked. "What are you thinking?"

"Demons can't fight them, right? But when they came the last time, you shoot an arrow at them and it passed through their barrier without any trouble. I think that they can't use their holy powers to fight other humans. Mom and dad think so too."

"Yeah, but that means we'll need an army to fight theirs."

Rin swallowed. "I-I can get us an army."

Jinenji felt the girl's uneasiness and scooted closer, placing an oversized hand on her shoulder.

That gave her strength to go on. "There's a lord… a Daimyo of Satsuma. He requested my hand in marriage. My parents said it was my decision. He's got the biggest samurai army I've ever heard of."

"You never said any of that…!" Kohaku cut her off, almost jumping from his place.

Kagome's hand entwined with her adoptive niece's. "Rin, you don't have to do something like that. We'll figure it out. A loveless marriage isn't the answer."

The girl frowned. "Then _what is the answer,_ Kagome? What else can we do? We've been sitting. Waiting. I can't…!" Tears swelled up in her eyes. "Ah-Un can't have died for nothing… I want to avenge them."

"Rin, we can't let you do this…"

The teenager smiled. "I _want_ to do this. If I can't fight, I'll help in any other way… Besides, it wouldn't be a loveless marriage. Lord Tsuyoshi cares about me, and I respect him. One day, I'll learn to love him back."

Shippo crawled to her and sat on her lap. "But you won't be happy."

"I won't be happy until those bastards pay… None of us can think of another way… I'll do this."

Jaken pouted. "You are brave, for a human."

Kohaku suddenly jerked from his place by the other end of the fire pit and stomped away. And Rin winced when she heard the door to the corridor slid shut with far more force than necessary.

"I should talk to him. Mom and dad had the same reaction…"

Kagome nodded, not at all convinced of the course of action Rin was planning on taking. Kirara purred in her lap, easing her worries away, and she managed to resume the conversation. "We need to get Rin out of this, there's got to be another way…"

"It's been four months, Kagome," Shippo mumbled. "We have thought of everything. Just being close to those assholes could kill a youkai."

"And the stronger a demon is, the more damage they seem to do to them," mused the kappa.

"But we can't force lesser youkai to fight them!"

"We talked about giving stronger demons reinforced human armors. The weight shouldn't be a problem given their enhanced strength. As long as they resist arrows and swords they should be alright," reminded Shippo.

"Yeah, but making customized armor for every youkai takes far more money and resources than any of us have."

"Maybe milord Sesshomaru could persuade the cardinal lords of lending their help?"

"Jaken, you know we are outcasts now. He relinquished the throne to mate a human. _A miko_. For them, we are as much of an enemy as Yutaka and his club of jerks," the kit chastised.

"Which brings us again to Rin's arranged marriage and the Daimyo's fortune."

Silence settled in heavily, and the whole group desperately tried to find a last minute solution, but nothing came.

"I'll just go talk to Rin," Kagome finally said. "Ask her to not do this. We'll find a way out."

She stood and walked the corridors, soon running into Kohaku and her niece in one of the tea rooms. She almost opened her mouth to announce herself when she realized, in the darkness, that both silhouettes where knotted in a fierce, passionate kiss.

Kagome's face turned a furious shade of red and she fled in complete silence.

"Did you talk to Rin?" Inquired the kitsune when she returned much sooner than anticipated.

"No need! She's definitely not going through with this." Kagome smiled with warm confidence… Which made it all the more unexpected when Rin announced her engagement to the Daimyo the next week.

* * *

 **Author's note: REMEMBER, I CAN'T UPLOAD THE NEXT CHAPTER UNTI THIS ONE GETS AT LEAST 2 REVIEWS.**

 **Daimyo: A Japanese feudal lord**


	22. All too lonely

**Author's notes**

 _ **REGARDING THIS CHAPTER:**_

 **It's been nine years since Kagome and Sesshomaru's wedding, and we are finally on our way to the main conflict of our story (say, we just begun Act 2). In case you didn't want to read the lemony chapter 20: Fly Me To The Moon, here are explained some of the details that had importance for the plot.**

 **In case you forgot, Miroku and Sango's eldest daughters (after Rin) are twins, and are called Momoko (who wears pink) and Nashiko (who wears green). Nashiko begun her miko training, while her sister focused solely in the physical part of her skills.**

 **In this chapter we introduce Qiang, a rose demon from China who became a permanent part of Kagome's village of refugees.**

 **There is a _very_ obvious reference to the Fallout franchise, since Fallout 3 and New Vegas are some of my favorite games ever. If you can find it, yay to you!**

* * *

 **All too lonely**

" _Hiraikotsu!_ "

" _Sankon Tessou!"_

With a furious wave, the bone boomerang shone white and parted the dark orange dragon in two, while Inuyasha's claws ripped its head off in a swift motion.

The inu hanyou landed in a crouch, flexing his blood covered hand, looking smug and proud as the villagers gasped in admiration.

"You doin' alright, Inuyasha?"

"Keh, don't worry about me wench. Did ya get the artifact?"

He walked by the female, who kicked a dragon rib off her way to search for her goal while retrieving her weapon. "Here it is." She took a shining golden orb that looked like a carved sphere and polished it against her taijiya black uniform, leaving behind a trail of blood and guts in her clothes, causing Inuyasha to guck.

She shot him a smirk, then went to the village's headman and delivered the piece.

"Oh, thank you, milady slayer! This heirloom is priceless to our people," the chief said with a low bow, shaking with gratitude.

"It's no big deal. It's good we made it here before anyone else got hur-" she cut off suddenly, hissing in pain, grabbing her side.

"Nashiko!" Inuyasha jolted by her flank and caught her before she hit the ground, shaking her slowly.

"Just a cramp, calm down already!"

"Like hell, you're bleeding!"

She groaned and sat, looking down at the faucet gurgling like wound over her hip. "Looks like I am." She undid the green sash and tightened it around her waist several times, improvising a bandage. "C'mon big dog, take me home."

He shook his head. "Too far, I'm taking you to the youkai village. Kagome will know what to do."

He collected her slender frame in his arms, and she hissed again, groaning as he stood. "Hey, don't you all get too happy! We're gonna be charging you when I get back on my feet!" She warned the villagers, who stared in shock at the profusely harmed female who still looked filled with energy.

When she whimpered again, the hanyou chided at her while jumping from branch to branch. "You better shut up and save your strength."

"Oh, knock it off already. This won't kill me and you know it."

"Yeah, but it's gonna hurt like a bitch and leave a pretty darn big scar behind. Sango won't let me hear the end of it."

"One more for the collection, who cares. And you're scared of mom? You should fear Momoko's wrath."

"You really shouldn't tag along in these kind of jobs. T'sonly gonna kill ya."

"Pfft. Like you could have handled a full-fledged ryu youkai without my sutras saving your ass."

"You _know_ I've handled dragons before. Besides, if _you_ could be a normal miko, not being in the goddamn middle of the battle, I wouldn't need you backing me up while keeping an eye on _your ass_."

 _Not that I mind the view…_

"What's the fun in shooting from the distance and keeping barriers? I'll stick to my sutra-covered-boomerang method, thank you very much."

"Well, at least you get points for creativity."

"Which you would be missing, swinging your sword around like it's a club…" She taunted. He leapt and landed curtly, causing her to wince. "Asshole…!"

"Respect your elders, kid."

* * *

War never changed.

Kagome, as anyone with Japanese blood in their veins, knew war. She knew what it was like to tremble at the thought of dozens of thousands of lives extinguish like candles being blew off by a hurricane. She knew what it was like to dread a memory that occurred long before her birth, as if the fires of hell dragging multitudes in mere seconds, leaving behind only bleached bones and shadows forever printed into walls, had engraved a sense of horror in her culture's DNA, instinctively warning her of the greatest catastrophe her people as a whole had ever suffered.

Kagome, as anyone, truly, knew war.

Looking in the eyes of Tsuyoshi, Rin's husband for the last nine years, she saw a lover of war, a man who found his worth in how many heads would fall after his troops had wasted away a city.

She hated his guts.

Rin said, vowed, and swore he wasn't that bad. He was a Lord in a belligerent era, after all, and he was expected to act as a warrior. But as years went by, the miko found he knew little of honor and nothing of mercy. He was a primitive, only delicate with the object of his lust, her beloved adoptive niece.

'Who could blame him?' She once thought. 'I've never seen a woman more beautiful than Rin.'

That had been so at least, for the first handful of years. After three daughters and no male heir, Rin had been forgotten to rot away in some corner of the palace, deemed useless as a watchdog that served no more to its purpose. Now, whores and courtesans flooded the palace at all hours hoping he'd pull a Henry VIII any minute now and chose to formalize any of the bitches that polluted his fortress.

But he knew he couldn't quite get rid of his useless little wife.

Kagome's village, the well-known albeit hidden Youkai Village, had transformed into a small city and an invaluable ally in the war against the demon hunters and the many lords that supported their crusade. The daimyo was too hungry for power to let their alliance waste away.

The miko didn't like it, but destroying or closing the Shiroari Temple's outposts, as well to any connected holy compound they heard of, was the only way to avoid them plaguing the cleansed lands again. She insisted that if a sole drop of civil, uninvolved blood was shed by Tsuyoshi's soldiers, all of his would be as well.

Kagome wasn't stupid, though. She, after all, knew war. But if she could not prove that harm had come to the innocent ones, there was not much more she could do.

And so, she and her mate started leading their youkai army side by side with Tsuyoshi's samurai to keep a close eye on them. No one could stand their ground, and colonies were formed little by little.

After a couple of years, Kagome sought Bokuseno's counsel, not knowing who else to turn to, since she feared she was changing the history, given she had never heard the name of Tsuyoshi of Satsuma.

The barky face had constricted in a compassionate smile, and the deep, rumbling voice spoke. "Kagome, you should know better… Once, my father, who was brought as a seed from the Continent, taught me a lesson hard to forget: time is fluctuating and fate is steady. They merge like the rhythmic drumming of the tsuri-daiko and the melodic strings of the shamisen. Like music, they are one thing, but both very different at the same time."

"Do not fear, child of the future. Fate and karmic unfolding of events is unavoidable. All you know will be; shall be. It is the way of the universe. You remember the future as it was because you would mold the past with your actions. Do not neglect your free will fearing not the consequences but the alterations of a seeming pattern. After all, you, this version of you, will only live this once."

She stared up at the knotty face, brow furrowed in concentration. "You are the most awfully wise plant I've ever heard of."

The magnolia smiled. "I shall take it as a compliment."

* * *

"FOR FUCKS SAKES, WOMAN!"

"Nashiko! Watch your language!"

"YOU TRY TO NOT SEW MY DAMN RIBS TOO!" She hissed while her nails dug on the mattress. When Kagome wasn't around, it was Qiang's responsibility to tend to the injured.

Her aunt always compared the Chinese demoness to something she called 'Valkyrie', some sort of warring spirit that comforted soldiers. In the young taijiya's opinion, the bourbon haired youkai was not in the less bit comforting.

"There. All done. Could've been ready earlier if you just stopped whining and moving!"

"You are a witch, Qiang."

"Yes, but one that patches you up."

The red eyed youkai shoot her a grin, causing the demon slayer to stick her tongue out at her, before leaving.

Inuyasha, who intently looked at the girl getting her slashed side stitched back together, tried his best to hide his amusement, but when she glared in his direction with a threat of purification, he just smiled apologetically. "Want me to ask Jinenji for something for the pain?"

"Nah. Been worse. Don't let me go soft." When he settled in the corner of the room, she cracked a smile. She knew he would stay, but was always glad to see him do it. "I take it you already sent word."

"Yeah, Miroku should hear about it tomorrow at most… Damn, he ain't gonna be happy neither."

"Listen up, big dog. They get the drill. We've worked together since I could lift Hiraikotsu. You know all the complaining is hardly heartfelt. Imma rest until I'm sure the stitches won't tear open, and they'll deal with it."

Inuyasha's ears plastered to his skull, but he kept his mouth shut. This was the arrangement. Three parties that dealt with major problems, each of two members: one to handle the physical blows and one to attend to spiritual matters. Kohaku and Kirara -the first of which had taken enough classes with his brother in law to stand his ground in the subject-, Miroku and Momoko, and Nashiko and himself. They all tried to talk sense into the demons they had been called to exterminate, arguing that, in these warring days, their species should work as a whole. Inuyasha was thankful that, more often than not, the blabbing was useless. Diplomacy really didn't suit him.

Nashiko, who was now eighteen, had been his companion whenever force was necessary for over six years now. He was used to her presence more than he would care to admit, even if the youkai hunters had diminished the need of their services from the neighboring communities.

He had stopped complained when he started worrying. He was all too familiar with the scenario. Every single time she got hurt, he blamed himself.

"Hey, big dog," she called him off from his thoughts. "Pass me that bag over there. I was reading this scrolls I got my hands on. You should totally check them out."

Inuyasha smirked. She spent so much time with Kagome, since she, although unconventionally so, was also a miko, that her mannerisms had started to appear in her speaking during the last few years.

He handed the pack, as requested, and she dug for a second, extracting her goal with a victorious 'aha!'

Nashiko motioned him to sit by her side and signaled an ink column she had marked with a string. "Read here. Remember what uncle Sesshomaru said about The Dog and The Man last month?" Inuyasha tilted his head with a sarcastically lifted eyebrow. "Ok, so you weren't listening. Look. Every powerful demon who can attain humanoid form without a concealing spell -we're talking taiyoukai here- is made of two minds that are one. Uncle Sesshomaru calls them 'The Dog and The Man'."

She shifted closer, and Inuyasha was suddenly very aware of the warm form of the brown haired girl, who kept on talking as if she hadn't noticed their brushing thighs. Since she had been patched up moments before, she was only wearing her undergarments, draped only around her hips and breasts, showing off a damn lot of creamy skin. No big deal, since they were family… kinda…

He did the best to concentrate in his niece's words.

He hated, hated, _hated_ calling her 'niece' in his mind. Although he was happy he never had to say something about it aloud. He was also thankful she hadn't called him 'uncle' ever in his life, even if she did so with his brother.

He was very aware one should not think of one's niece the way he sometimes thought about Nashiko.

She smacked him across the head. "You're not listening."

"Keh."

"So, was saying. The Animal takes hold of instinct, The Man takes care of logic. Makes sense, because you trust your gut as much as you trust your brain, in the remote case you have one."

"I'm gonna poke your ribs if you don't shut up, wench."

She giggled, and focused back to business. "So, besides other thinks like mating and passing rites, the dual mind of a taiyoukai flows almost always unnoticed. We all know that, you would know it too if you _ever_ paid attention. And _then_ …!" She scooted even closer, and Inuyasha fought back his shudder.

She had extended the scroll on his lap -something he was very thankful for since it hid a rapidly growing problem- and was curled over him, her head tilted, her long neck bared and deliciously exposed, since her ponytail rested on her other shoulder. He clenched his fists hard, almost drawing blood, to stop thinking of just how good the demon slayer's skin might taste.

"I found this! Look, it talks about The Animal of hanyou. It explains why you have dog ears! It says that a hanyou can't control The Beast and The Man, and for him they are one, so you've got traits of both. It says a whole other bunch of interesting stuff about half-breeds. Maybe you'd want to read it. But it got me thinking, what if you _could_ control The Beast and The Man? Maybe, just maybe, since you're the son of a taiyoukai, you could learn to separate them. Then, diluted blood wouldn't mean a damn thing! Whaddaya think?"

He stared at her big, brown eyes, and his mouth almost watered. He felt like the biggest jackass ever. There was his _niece_ , talking about something that was very darned important, and he was concentrated in little but the heat that emanated from her body. He nodded once, but did so absentmindedly.

"You're not listening _again_! You hit your head while fighting or something?" She would be the doom of him. This was not a shy girl, careful of whatever messages she might send. She had grown raised to be too damn self-confident. She stood on her knees, ignoring the pulling of the stitches at her side, and placed a hand in his forehead while furrowing her brow in concentration. Her hidden, perfect breasts where lined with his face, and Inuyasha bit the inside of his cheek hard to think of anything else than the raging jolt of desire that traveled his body. "Hum. You _are_ warm. Maybe you caught a fever."

She receded, and he sighed heavily, thanking any deity that had decided to hear his pleading when she returned to her spot just by his side.

"You're probably right. I probably caught something from that stinky dragon. Imma go check in with Jinenji, maybe he's got something to reduce it." Oh, he knew alright how to cure his problem. A long soak in the cold river would do just fine. Maybe smashing his head against a tree trunk to assort his only remaining neuron would help, too.

"Sure, I'm gonna take a nap anyway. Keep the scroll. I already memorized it. Oh, ask Jaken to charge the village's headman. I don't think I'm leaving this bed for a few days at least."

Not wanting to waste another second making a fool of himself, Inuyasha fled.

Inside the room, Nashiko frowned just not to pout. She didn't know how to put it more clearly than that and was getting too tired of throwing hints.

"Jii-chan, this isn't working…" she murmured so low Inuyasha couldn't have caught it even if he was still in the room.

A low rumbling spoke in the back of her mind of patience.

It had always been there, since she was a kid. An imaginary friend, as Kagome called him, that talked and advised in the form of a white haired older man. She stopped talking about him completely when she was grown enough not to be having fantastical conversations in her mind with an old, imaginary male. Only her twin sister knew of the persistence and veracity of the spirit that communicated with her in her mind.

She had learnt to deal with it, eventually. She was, after all, a miko, and supernatural things shouldn't be that rare of an occurrence.

Finally she heard Inuyasha's steps fade in the distance, and sighed. She might have to accept Momoko's advice and just dive in for the kill once and for all.

* * *

Inuyasha was high on one of Bokuseno's branches, holding the scroll lazily in his hand, staring at the patches of blue sky he could see between the leaves.

He wanted to talk to Kagome, although he knew he couldn't. He was knees deep in this mess and all alone. He had to find a way to extirpate Nashiko of his brain once and for all at any cost.

 _Might have to stop seeing her altogether._

He snarled at his own thoughts, and felt immediately surprised at it. _Must be the animal thing she was rambling about yesterday._

Just then he remembered the scroll he was carrying around just because it smelled like her, and he lethargically opened it to skim it, even if he still had a hard time recognizing some of the ancient Chinese characters. What damn use was all the reading anyway?

Suddenly he shot up straight when he read a very clear sentence and a much more alarming word. The scroll talked about _that_ , the most horrid secret he ever had to keep, the one thing that had separated him of Kagome fifteen years ago.

His heart almost stopped. This meant Nashiko _knew._

He swallowed and tasted sand. His whole body shook

No one but Sesshomaru, and possibly the taiyoukai's mother, knew the reason. If the priestess turned taijiya was aware of it…

His mind refused to back him up. He came out blank, feeling only an impending sense of desolation as it all was back to be rubbed on his face.

He eyed the scroll more closely, and he noticed it had to be extremely old, although well preserved.

He read the whole portion of text in a minute, making sure he was, indeed, reading about what he _thought_ he was reading. And he was.

Steeling his nerves, never being one to back away from a threat, he strode with quick leaps to the wing of the huge house where Nashiko was resting, and called her from outside.

She allowed him to enter, and he was relieved she was wearing a cotton yukata this time at least. Now was not the time to be distracted by her.

"I was wondering… this scroll… where'd you get it from?"

She smiled, slyly. "That's a secret."

His brow furrowed and his eyes locked on the floor. What did she think of him now? Had anything changed and he hadn't noticed? She believed him less of a man now? "So… you read it all?"

Nashiko was confused for a second at his upset appearance. "Yeah, I told you I did."

"Does anyone else know you have it or what it says?"

Thinking that the voice in her mind didn't count, she slowly answered, "Nooo… Just you and me."

He nodded and let himself fall to sit by the edge of the futon, staring at the wall some more before managing to continue.

It took him what seemed like an eternity, but finally he managed to form the words. "Don't tell Kagome. She… she doesn't need to know."

Nashiko was extremely confused now. What did her aunt have anything to do with what was transpiring in that room? "About what?"

He took a deep breath, and skimmed the scroll to find the dreaded phrase. He signaled it, and returned the piece of literature with grave eyes. "Don't tell Kagome."

She opened her mouth and closed it. "Inuyasha, why souldn't I tell aunt…?"

"Just… just don't, ok? She shouldn't be forced to deal with it, especially not after over fifteen years."

"I… Why would she mind…? Everyone knows… Inuyasha, I don't get it…"

He nodded curtly. "Good. Better that way."

* * *

 **A/N: Please remember I can't post the next chapter until this one has at least a couple of reviews. So leave your thoughts, please! ^^**


	23. I've got scars that can't be seen

**A/N: You might want to re-read chapters 1, 2, 3, 6, 13 and 16, since there are more hints about what's coming in this chapter and it would serve you good to have them fresh in your memory.**

 **The tittle of this chapter is a reference to David Bowie's last music video, Lazarus. He passed to eternity yesterday. May he always be remembered as the legendary artist he was.**

* * *

 **I've got scars that can't be seen**

"Ok, you have to stop that."

Souta glared so intently at his nephew, both of the childish youkai were certain he was defying Yuukimaru to a duel of wills.

"What ya babbling about?" The hybrid responded as expected: glaring back.

"You're beating around the bush all day. You need to stop that and just tell us why Inuyasha didn't mate Kagome. We don't need the suspense."

The hybrid grimaced and Chiharu and Tristão were sure he had been quickly outmatched and defeated.

"Hnn… S'just that…"

Shippo, while rocking his youngest, unnamed son, shook his head. "He can't tell you."

"Why?" Mrs. Higurashi, who in any other occasion would have scolded her son, was now entirely on his side. They had been avoiding the topic since the day before, and her infinite patience was running thin. "Do you not know why it was?" When her grandson's ears flattened to his skull, she gasped. "Oh, heavens, you don't know!"

"No, calm down, we know alright. We were just asked not to tell. We promised," Shippo intervened in the name of his brother.

"What? Why would you do that!"

"So _I_ could tell."

Everyone lacking demonic senses jumped from their place, turning to stare at the source of the voice.

Nelee, her mate, children, and brother in law, looked up at him equally expectantly. They wanted answers as much as the humans, but of different affairs.

Inuyasha stood in the threshold. Jarred blue stripes adorned the sides of his aged face, also decorated with one or two creases, since he could only evade time for so long. He wore black; had done so for centuries now, and would for many more to come. Scars covered his hands and faintly some parts of his face. Not every mark could be erased, after all.

Mrs. Higurashi stood and walked to him, shock evident in her gaze, and placed a hand in his cheek to make sure _this_ was Inuyasha. He leaned into her familiar, maternal touch. "We hadn't seen you in years."

"I hadn't seen you in centuries."

Souta was almost as dumbstruck as his mom, but managed to walk to him, taking in the hanyou who now looked in his early thirties. "You look older."

Inuyasha looked at the human boy and the most miserable smile spread across his face. Something was, however, blatantly obvious.

He was devastated. Whatever fortune had given him for the last five hundred years, had to be bad.

The hybrid walked to the cushions where his pack rested, and plummeted, too exhausted to even bother anymore.

"Oi! Old man! What's wrong! What happened!? You're _days_ late!" Yuukimaru almost screamed.

Dull golden eyes looked up at his son, and it was abundantly clear in the pink tint in the older half-breed's orbs that he had been crying.

But he just shook his head. "Later."

With index and thumb, the older hanyou pressed the bridge of his nose, taking deep, slow breaths. He looked up; bags filled with exhaustion under his gaze, and smiled again at the humans in front of him.

He swallowed, although his mouth felt dry. "What do you know about mules?"

Inuyasha began to tell a story he was very familiar with.

* * *

In the beginning, there where the Givers.

God, deities, The Energy. One or many, it doesn't matter. The Givers created everything: the darkness, the light, and all that's in between.

Then, they made the force that holds it all together.

After that, they made a sphere of clay and made the world, the Earth, but it was empty. So, they decided to fill it up with life.

First, they created the Air, then the Water, and then the Fire that keeps everything alive. I mean the souls.

They made peaceful non-sentient lives: which would be plants and other stuff. Everyone says the youkai were the first things alive in the world, but they weren't.

After everything turned green, they created all the things that inhabit the depths and the underworld. Fish bigger than castles and spirits, which soon explored every corner of the world. Then they gave life to all the things that slither and walk on earth. Then the ones of the skies. Beasts and plants were blessed with the ignorance of their fleeting existence.

They created many more things, then. They first made the youkai, but their feral nature threatened to destroy everything. The Givers gifted them with very long lives so they could learn to understand it all around them.

Humans came next, but they were too frail despite being smart. So, they gave them the gift of reincarnation, so they could continue to experience the Universe despite their short existences.

Finally, they took the best of both their most recent creations and they made the taiyoukai. Many think they are just powerful demons, because they live a long time and don't reincarnate, but no. They can control their instinct as no other youkai can.

But the Givers knew soon the world needed rulers: people that could keep it all in order. So, taking the first and best of the taiyoukai, they assigned the Dragons of the water, to secure the secrets that weren't made to be known. The Cats, to keep the spirits in line. The Crows to watch from above. And finally, the Dogs, to make sure everything remained where it belonged, by watching the borders.

Then, something unexpected happened. A youkai and a human fell in love, and the first hanyou was born. Every other creature created complained that the hanyou had not one, but both gifts, since we can reincarnate, and we also live long lives.

So, the Givers knew they had to be fair. And took from the hanyou the gift both species shared: that of creating life themselves.

* * *

Inuyasha smirked. It had been a long time since he told that story.

He didn't necessarily believe that bullshit, but he could deal with the explanation.

"What I mean is… hanyou can't have children. Like mules, or any other cross-breed really. Some say it has happened but… I couldn't risk mating Kagome and then not being the exception."

He leaned forward, ignoring the expressions of the humans. "I was waiting for Kagome to come back after Naraku died, when I realized we hadn't ever come across someone who was one-quarter youkai, or human. I asked, and checked, and… well, in the end…" He sighed. "In the end I just wanted to believe Kagome would be ok not having kids. She always said she loved me just like I was, but…" He swallowed hard. "But then I saw how she was with Miroku and Sango's kids. I know little people with a clearer calling to be a mom."

The hanyou looked up at Mrs. Higurashi. She saw shame, and a lot, lot of pain. "I know it might sound stupid, but think of it. I couldn't take that away from her… So I left her. I shouldn't have marked her to begin with, but… I was kinda losing that battle against myself. That's why I ran."

He shook his head. "I never told her because I was embarrassed. I didn't expect her to believe me less of a man because of a consequence of my blood, but it still meant I was incapable of providing her with something she needed. That's also why I flipped when my brother declared her his concubine… That would mean she wouldn't be having any kids." His eyes turned somber, and he looked even more tired. He glanced at Yuukimaru, who huffed and looked away. "I still wouldn't change that decision."

"Inuyasha, dear…" Kagome's mother wrapped her arms around him carefully. "I'm sorry about everything."

He smirked at the woman. "Don't be. We're ok."

The older hanyou stood and cracked his knuckles in an attempt to clear his mind. Then, he walked towards the magnificent canine's painting in the wall, where the rack with only one vacant spot was. He took the katana that rested on his side and, with a respectful nod, presented it to his brother, therefore crowning the line of blades.

Souta realized that wasn't Tessaiga. The sword's hilt and sheath were bone white and had intricate geometric designs. Only then it dawned on the boy that Yuukimaru was now the Iron Fang's wielder. "Why did you change swords, Inu no onii-chan?"

He smiled, turning from the picture of his brother towards the kid. "This is Bakusaiga. It was my brother's. He gave it to me when he died, and I gave Tessaiga to Yuukimaru when he was old enough. He needed it more than I did."

Mrs. Higurashi gasped. "The blue marks you had on your face are gone!"

"Huh? Ah, yeah. It's a side effect. When I'm not holding Bakusaiga that's what happens. It pulls my demon blood a whole damn lot." Wanting to change the subject, he turned to Shippo. "Oi, runt. They arrived a couple of hours ago, right? So I take it they haven't met the others."

The kitsune, who was ironically taller than Inuyasha or Yuukimaru, passed a hand through the back of his neck with an apologetic smile. "Rude of us."

"Go ahead, I'm sure they sniffed them already anyway. I gotta go do something. I'll try to get back as soon as I can, but I don't think you should wait for me to have dinner."

Yuukimaru's ears pricked forward and he almost jumped from his place. "Where ya goin'?"

"I've got… someone to see," he answered in a low, tired voice.

Shippo placed his hand on Yuukimaru's shoulder and squeezed. "We'll take care of everything here. You go do what you've got to."

Inuyasha nodded and walked to the door, when Nelinha's voice stopped him. "Oi, _cão_ ," she called using her favorite nickname. She tossed something at him that he caught with one hand. "Don't forget your phone again."

Inuyasha looked down at the despised black devise that was his flip phone and almost growled. "Ok, ok, whatever."

The three humans were shocked. Not because they had finally seen Inuyasha again after three years. Not because he had barely reported back to his family before leaving after just a few minutes of dropping a historical-mythological bomb on them. Mostly, it was because he owned his own cellphone.

* * *

Inuyasha was running. He knew he was trying to escape the responsibility of explaining things to Kagome's family himself, but he couldn't bring himself to care.

There was too much he was dealing with right now. Much more, actually, than he had ever had to tolerate.

He huffed, panted, working energy off his body while running across the forest, trying not to think. But he couldn't.

There was just one word in his mind, but it hammered in his brain, repeating over and over again.

Bared fangs, fury and pain. He roared and his claws ripped a tree in two.

He looked down at the splintered wood, but he still found no rest.

The word sounded in his mind again.

 _Konohana._

* * *

 **A/N: Remember this chapter must have at least two reviews so I can post the next one.**


	24. Biology, zoology, sociology

**A/N: Ohmygawd I'm so sorry about the delay. I was about to finish this chapter at least thirty times, but I was never happy with the final result. Then, I got a surgery, and after that (stitches still on and all) I started out in a new job which is very demanding. I'm sorry I kept you waiting, but don't worry, I'm always coming back.**

 **This is the last chapter of the modern era you'll see in a long, and I mean a loooong while. I hope you're still hanging with me by then!**

 **As a side note, ' _avozinha_ ' is Portuguese for "grandma". Nelinha loves to give people nick names, in case you didn't notice.**

 **As always, special thanks to the best beta ever, _Kim, _ who spent a lovely holidays season!**

 **Please remember this chapter needs at least two reviews before I can publish the next one!**

* * *

 **Biology, zoology, sociology**

The corridor took them to a back door. Chiharu took Souta's hand and pulled him along while giggling, being followed by a very energetic Tristão. The boy was greeted by sunlight and the view of a least two dozen small houses and several more tents. The next thing he saw immediately after that had him tripping away, terrified.

There, in the clearing where the residences were, crouched the biggest creature the human boy had ever seen. Hunched down, it was tall as an elephant, but if it had been standing straight, the thing would probably be as tall as a house.

It had gigantic blue bulbous eyes, its skin was tanned almost orange, and a small ponytail of grey hair flowed in waves down his back.

Deep wrinkles crossed his face, almost as striking as the scars, and it looked down surprised at the human kid that was terrified to the point of being completely mute. Mrs. Higurashi peeped curious outside and found the massive creature looking down at her son. She came closer with an intrigued expression.

"M-mom…!"

"Tsk. Don't be rude, Souta…" She looked up at the elongated face and smiled. "You must be Jinenji."

The elderly hanyou nodded with a smile that lacked several teeth and presented a hand with a palm up as a greeting. She placed her own hand on the tip of a finger as long as her arm and her smile widened. "I'm Kagome's mom. We've heard a lot about you."

The hanyou blushed. "She talked a lot about you. I know you like daisies, so I planted them for when you came."

She gasped and looked to the rim of the clearing, completely covered in white spots. "Thank you! I love them!"

He smiled sheepishly again. "Welcome."

Just then, Yuukimaru smacked Souta playfully across the head. "Get a grip on yourself. Horse-face here wouldn't hurt a fly."

Tristão climbed atop of the hanyou's shoulder and sat there. Mrs. Higurashi was about to complain, when Jinenji moved and the boy giggled, holding on so as not to fall. If they enjoyed themselves, she was not the one to stop them.

Just then she noticed at least seven children bearing different inhuman traits had approached from the houses and tents. They eyed the humans curiously, and then glanced back at some adults that nodded in the distance.

The first one, a girl that seemed around ten, with paws and claws instead of hands, and two round brown ears atop of her head, walked bravely to Gramps, bright bead-like eyes shining with determination, and offered a furry palm in salutation, that the elder graciously accepted. "I'm Tatiana," she said in broken Japanese. "I'm a bear hanyou."

"Nice to meet you, little girl."

The girl stuck out her tongue. "I'm not a kid! I'm older than you!"

"Oh, my apologies!"

"Are you a priest? Did you come to hurt us?"

The old man's face scrunched with pain. He had been specially affected when hearing of the holy men and women who exorcized and persecuted demons without differentiating a menace of a peaceful creature. He had felt upset mostly because he could have been one of them.

Ever since he could remember, he knew he would die a shrine-keeper. He was taught of spirits and their evil works, the ill influence they had in the world, and how they should be destroyed.

Never in all of his years had he questioned the veracity of these teachings. He knew youkai were bad news as much as he knew the sun would rise from the East.

Even after meeting Inuyasha he held his ground. The reckless boy was an addition to the family, but also just an exception.

It was until the moment he saw Yuukimaru's smile and his own son's spirit in his face-because, yes, he saw it too-, his own blood mixed with that of a demon, that he stopped to think for the first time in over sixty years.

He had been rather quiet for the last three days, since meeting his great-grandson. He had been thinking.

Now, there was a girl not taller than his waist in front of him, asking if he was an enemy. If he was a killer. He felt shame, pain, and regret. He was suddenly very conscious that if a single ounce of power had ran in his veins, he would have purified Inuyasha.

He attempted to murder a member of his own family.

For the first time he was thankful for his powerlessness. At the same time, he swore to dedicate whatever time he had left in this world to protect the sanctuary his granddaughter had created.

He felt tears coming, but stopped them. "No, I'm not going to hurt any of you. You don't have to be afraid of me. I'm your friend."

The brunette girl smiled. "Your name?"

"You can call me Grandpa."

"You're Kagome's Grandpa?"

"Did you know Kagome?" Asked Mama Higurashi, surprised.

The girl nodded. "She saved me and my sisters. She brought us here after that. We miss her."

"Oh, I see." She swallowed the need to ask what had been of her girl. But she knew better. And was definitely not ready to hear of her only daughter's death.

Eventually, she guessed, she would manage to face that information.

"Come! We'll show you around!" The girl motioned the rest of the children to come closer, and pulled the old man by the hand. Quickly she introduced the priest to her playmates, and began the tour of the sunset bathed village.

With a smile on her face, and her son walking in tow, Mama Higurashi joined the troop, while Shippo explained the history of the place and introduced them to the permanent and temporary inhabitants of their sanctuary.

"Things became _much_ easier when indoors plumbing was invented. We've got twenty three people living here permanently and there's always at least fifteen more coming or going. We're in contact with several more youkai villages. There are five in South America, one in Poland, one in Turkey, there's one in New Zealand, two big ones in Africa, and two more in China. Internet's also making this much easier. We've heard of another settlement in Hawaii, and there are rumors of a large one in Southern India. We've got people looking, but it's hard. The youkai that have made it this far have learned to blend in."

"So, you work like a network?"

"There are all types of demons," intervened Nelee. "Some would prefer to be closer to home, or as far away as possible. Until the mid-twentieth century we didn't know of half these settlements. We have hope. We find more youkai every day."

"Also," the kitsune pointed with his chin at a couple of grey haired demons with red eyes and several kids going on around them. The female's pregnant belly was so swollen it was sure more than one baby was waiting for their turn to get out of there. "Look at those rabbit demons. They've sure have the 'repopulation' thing covered."

Mama Higurashi giggled. "I'm glad to know there are more."

"From the settlements we know, we calculate the numbers must be around two thousand. So, yeah, we're optimistic."

There was a sudden shout, "Let's play ball! Souta's in my team and he's the goalkeeper!"

"Eh!? Why me! Hey, it's not fair!"

The children rearranged themselves quickly and two groups of four and the game began… at an unfairly high demonic speed.

A demoness with silver skin and grey eyes came closer to the family and after offering the adult humans a small basket of ripe pears, sat by their side to watch the kids play, cheering when Souta caught the ball in the air, successfully blocking a youkai strong shot.

"That's the fastest human I've seen in a while! You go, mighty uncle!" Screamed, happily, Nelinha, who was more excited about the game than it might have been considered 'normal'.

As the sun sank in the horizon, a sudden, high pitched howl almost made her jump, and Souta held the ball, stopping before his pass. "What was that?"

Yuukimaru smirked. "Coyotes." After a few minutes of hearing the canine serenade, the sound desisted. "They'll be here any minute now. Let me warn ya, they're _not_ the masters of sympathy."

Several silhouettes emerged from the trees behind the adults. Yellow eyes stared at them from slender, four legged forms as tall as horses covered with turquoise beads and adornments. Mrs. Higurashi felt a jolt of terror. Her maternal instinct screamed to get the kids out of the presence of these predators, to shield them with her own body, but Nelee's hand on her shoulder calmed her.

One of the canines transformed as they walked to the villages, where torches and lamps were lit. The man that emerged from the twist of black fur was slender and had dark, reddened skin. Long, straight jet black hair flanked his angular face, which sported war paint. The upper half was tinted a dark, almost black red; across his marked cheekbones a horizontal white line marked the ending of the blood colored dye; and finally, three vertical dark lines crowned his chin.

He was bare-chested, although the neckwear he wore could have counted as a chest plate made of wood and turquoise beads. The rest of his garments were a pair of simple leather pants, a discolored headscarf that covered his forehead and top of his head, and intricate earrings that dangled from his pointy ears.

Terrifying, to say the least. He looked ready to go to war, and maybe he was.

His nostrils flared as he took a deep breath, his yellow eyes never leaving Mrs. Higurashi's. "Humans," he finally declared.

Yuukimaru rolled his eyes. "Yes, moron. And cut the glares. This is my mother's family, and they will be treated as pack."

"So, they're finally here."

The hanyou nodded, and Souta noticed how the others had backed away to let the hanyou and the coyote deal with their staring contest.

Finally, the dark skinned man yielded. He nodded at the human female, although did so curtly, and approached the half breed, offering his hand to Yuukimaru, which he accepted clasping it with his own. Souta also noticed how three lines decorated the back of the coyote's hand, just like the ones he had on his chin. "You returned shortly after noon, yet only now I see you."

"Just got here a couple of hours ago. Didn't have time to check in, we were busy talking."

Yellow eyes narrowed, staring at a golden pair, but soon were redirected at the woman who was very close to shaking like a leaf. He let go of Yuukimaru's iron grasp to raise a clawed index finger. "My pack has only met one human worth our while. We do not know you, but you will be sure to live up to her memory in our presence."

"HEY, ASSHOLE, DON'T YOU CREEP OUT MY GRANDMOTHER," howled the hanyou.

But Mrs. Higurashi snapped out of it, and brightened. "You're talking about Kagome! Did you know her?"

Soft whines were heard from the small group of canines at his back, and the coyote nodded. "The best woman we ever knew of. She saved our lives when no one else would have."

She smiled, touched. "That's my girl…"

He stared closely at her for a moment longer, before nodding. "Yiska." He turned to the other four silhouettes at his back. "They are good."

As all of the coyotes came closer, Souta let out the breath he had been holding without noticing. Three of the four creatures morphed, except for one, the seeming eldest, which remained in its true form. All of them, not including a female who nodded in recognition, slipped past the humans without a second glance. One of them even growled at the old man with a low feral sound that no humanoid throat should have been able to make.

Yuukimaru groaned frustrated and rolled his eyes. "Sorry about these idiots. They…"

"Their involvement with humans hasn't been the best," Shippo filled in for him.

Yiska turned to Kagome's grandfather and his eyes narrowed. "We specially dislike priests."

The old man looked down, ashamed. "We understand."

Souta gave him a side glance. "We do?"

Only a nod was his response.

* * *

Chiharu sat on Tristão, which was, in Souta's amateur opinion, cheating. The little kitsune bit his sister's ankle and soon recovered control over the remote after the girl yelped in pain and surprise. The battle to choose the channel was fierce, and something the human kid was definitely not used to since no one held particular interested on the TV at home except for him. He knew better than to involve himself in a demonic fight, so he would have to be ok with whatever ended up on screen. But damn if he didn't make sure his youngest grandnephew would be safe of that mess!

Mrs. Higurashi merely smiled from her spot in the kitchen, where she chopped vegetables. It had been far too long since her family held childish disputes, and she missed it. Kagome had been a grown woman since the day she learnt of fear, and pain, and death. Her daughter might have tried to mask it by acting like a normal teenager while at home after Naraku's fall, but they all knew that she had changed.

Maybe that's why she let her go. The issues of a modern young girl, the drama of dating and choosing a university, were just not enough for the warring character she had developed while facing the downfall of the world.

Kagome's mother's face scrunched with pain at a miserable memory that came to her. It was her daughter's sixteenth birthday, and she didn't even get out of bed. Her quest in the feudal era had lasted less than eight months, which was devastatingly shocking considering how many things had happened.

But it all occurred within a couple of seasons. From her birthday in fall until before winter. The realization was surreal every time.

After that, Kagome was a fifteen-going-on-sixteen girl who had been ripped from home, mauled, and again thrown into a world she didn't belong to… not anymore. How could grammar and math matter when you've held a friend bleeding to death or poisoned in your arms?

How could anything else matter?

Kagome's family was on both sides of the Well, but here, in this time, they had each other. Miroku and Sango could have been ok without her, but Shippo and Inuyasha needed more.

And having her daughter devastated, lonely in a crowd, defenseless in her own home, requiring reassurance that it had not been just a dream, hurt. Helplessness always hurts a mother.

And then finding out Inuyasha _left her_! After all she had suffered in his absence! _AND FOR SUCH A SILLY REASON! WHITHOUT EVEN CONSULTING HER!_

"Avozinha? S'everything alright?"

"Huh?"

Her tanned clawed hands stopped peeling onions. "You just… kinda… growled…"

A cheerful smile. "Oh, it's nothing, I was simply thinking."

Nelinha eyed Qiang, who was salting the boiling water. They both shared a mute thought: 'scary'.

* * *

The chubby youkai presented the last plate and with a cheeky smile sat at her place. The table was more crowded than usual, but Qiang knew Kagome would have been happy to see them all together. And so, she would be glad in her name.

"Ok, I just have to ask…" Souta said, interrupting the light chatter after a couple of minutes. "If it's not 'politically incorrect', could you tell me what kind of demon are you, Qiang?"

She laughed. The female was short and round faced, dark purplish red hair framed her face, and two red eyes glimmered under thick eyelashes. "I'm a rose demon."

"I would never have guessed. And did you know Kagome too?"

"Oh, yes, of course. She taught me everything I know."

"Mh!" Shippo swallowed his chunk of meat. "She's our healer, I forgot to mention. She has lived here for almost as long as I have."

"Technically… Since you went out to see the world and find yourself a decent woman, I've spent more time in this house than anyone, except Bokuseno-sama."

Souta downed his noodles. "Who's Bokuseno-sama?"

"They haven't met him yet?"

"They did, but he was asleep, that old coot. I'm sure they'll get to talk to him in the morning."

"We met him?" Asked Mama Higurashi, to which Yuukimaru nodded.

"You know that big assss… That really big tree in the middle of the main garden? That's him. He's a magnolia youkai. The oldest one we've known of, actually."

"Amazing!" Mrs. Higurashi smiled excited, but returned to the previous focus of her concentration. "If he's old in demon terms, it means he's really old…"

"Actually, all demon age differently. It's really complicated," commented Shippo.

"And it's worse with hanyou. It's a mess, really. Look at Jinenji here. He's just a hundred and fifty years older than me. Two centuries ago, I looked pretty much the same, maybe one or two years younger," indicated Yuukimaru.

Shippo nodded. "The differences are huge. You know Tatiana, the girl you met earlier? She's older than Yuukimaru!"

The hanyou nodded. "You'll meet Naang Tao-baba tomorrow, for sure. She's the oldest youkai I've ever heard of. She's a turtle, so when we say she's old, we mean…"

"We mean like _real_ old. Older than Bokuseno-sama… and she's a tortoise!" Qiang added.

"Keh, same thing."

"Bokuseno-sama's a special case, because he wasn't born youkai. He was a regular tree. Imagine how many centuries have to pass for a tree to absorb so much youki it transforms. As a youkai, per se, he's younger than my father was, but as a tree, almost as old as Naang Tao-sama," said Shippo.

"And how long do Kitsune live?" Souta asked, looking at Nelinha.

"Hey, don't ask me. I'm not a kitsune."

"You… you aren't?"

"Nuh-uh. See? One tail. I'm a hybrid too, half hyena, half maned wolf."

"There are hybrids between youkai too, which makes it all the more complicated. Kitsune keep on maturing in growth sprouts up until the ninth tail, and by then we look in our late thirties, by human terms. After that, we don't age anymore. I've never heard of a kitsune dying of natural causes," Shippo indicated. "Hyenas live pretty much the same as dogs, and I've heard of them dying of old age at six, maybe even seven thousand years. This pack is mostly canine, so we manage, but some aren't so lucky, and misunderstandings lead to conflict… and not every pack is as close as a canine one. But the worse is when they fight over dominance."

"Why is that?" Inquired Gramps.

"Because title fights are to death or surrender. Luckily, our pack's only got one alpha female, and all four males that could compete for leadership have their own responsibilities."

Nelinha snorted. "They each think they're the big man, leaving the other three with their power delusion. They all have too much of an explosive character to coexist peacefully without a recognized rank."

"And what do each of you do, guys?"

The Latina smiled. "I make sure they don't fight, protect the pack as a whole, and take care of the home front in a war scenario. Shippo's job is to take care of Yuukimaru here and every problem within the pack, he's the mediator and his say is final. Inuyasha's the war leader, and Yiska shares that responsibility with a more… practical approach. I mean, Inuyasha calls the shots, but Yiska is the first to punch."

"The coyotes are pack?" She asked, bewildered.

"Mh-hm. The cranky cousins. And Yuukimaru-"

"I'm the one who _actually_ calls the shots."

"You might be," called Shippo from his side of the table. "The day you get to shave, perhaps?"

He glared at his brother. "I never heard a capitalized word before your name, fox!"

"Oh, Lord Yuukimaru, mighty Ruler of the Front Yard!"

"Hey, I may have a theoretical empire, but you've got none!"

"And still it's my job to look after _your_ butt."

Souta cocked his head, interrupting the fracas. "You're a _Lord_?"

"Cardinal Sovereign of the Western Lands, kiddo, in the flesh!" His hands rested entwined behind his head, smugly.

Mrs. Higurashi's brow furrowed. "But… Sesshomaru abdicated…"

Her younger grandson nodded. "Got recognized after all. S'a long story, we'll get to that. Let's say it kinda skipped a generation. I still got it after Father died, so it all went very smoothly."

The woman fell silent, and everyone noticed she wanted to change the topic into a more cheerful one. Gramps offered a way out. "How did you meet Kagome, Qiang?"

"Oh, the same as most everyone here. I was causing trouble, or so they say. Miroku-sama and his daughter were hired to hunt me down, but instead they told me of a peaceful place to live and dwell with no villagers freaking out. And so, I came here… and I just never left."

"Why are the other permanent residents not here with us then?" She asked looking at the faces.

"See, I'm not pack," the rose demon responded. "I'm too different of all these canines to be family, but I'm like a distant relative visiting permanently. For the others it's pretty much the same. We don't overstep our boundaries, some try not to get attached, some just want to be alone…"

"You're gonna learn there's a dang lot of different cases in this house," said the hanyou, looking at the only other half breed in the table. Jinenji nodded.

"Just look at Yiska and the others. They're rightful pack, and still they refuse to eat indoors," commented Nelee.

Kirara purred from her place noncommittally.

"Yeah, but that probably has to do with his pack not liking anyone who can be called an outsider," growled Yuukimaru.

Qiang shrugged her shoulders. "That also happens a lot with the hanyou that pass by. They just are used to not getting attached."

"And the human families of the hanyou?" Mrs. Higurashi inquired.

Shippo's smirk was sad and filled with wistfulness. "They usually don't even know there are hanyou kids to begin with. Stray youkai don't stick around for too long. Lots of human mothers just assume they've had children born with problems, _if_ they're ever born at all."

"What do you mean?" Inquired Souta.

"Interbreeding isn't just a social complication. It wasn't like someone just decided it was problematic. The thing is that a human mother will have difficulties containing a creature with zero self-control and _much_ more strength than a human baby. Delivery is almost always lethal."

Nelee winced. "You can't imagine what it's like to feel kicks from demonic feet."

"And youkai mother's bodies most of the time will attack the baby, and it won't stand a chance. That's why nine in ten hanyou are born of a demon father and a human mother. The numbers are very much against them."

Yuukimaru nodded. "And so, old demons decided it was just safer if everyone would breed with their own species. For all the good it did."

"So," Mrs. Higurashi's smile was filled with pride. "Kagome and your mom, Jinenji, were very lucky if not very strong." Yuukimaru's eyes adverted from hers immediately. "Right…?"

"No. Mother didn't survive my birth."

* * *

 _Konohana._

Inuyasha ran, trying to follow trails that hadn't been there for far too long. The landscape had changed much over the centuries, but he still felt he was close.

The hill, he recognized. It was intact, like time had decided to just leave it alone, and maybe it had.

He jumped, concealed by the night, from roofs, to boulders, to trees, to ground. The tableland was rather small, and the place where the mouth of the cave should have been had disappeared.

He punched the rock hard, and it sounded hollow, so he didn't lose hope.

With claws and blows he removed the debris that had piled up for the last hundreds of years. Finally, his hand crossed the natural wall and was swallowed by the darkness.

One last powerful punch allowed him to walk into the damp blackness. His eyes adjusted and he saw the road, paved with bones and stalactites, which he followed with a quick pace.

Before giving the final step, he doubted. But he clenched his fist, took a deep breath that smelled of minerals and water, and passed into the huge chamber.

Moonlight filtered from the roof, bathing the petrified scene that had given origin to everything.

 _...Konohana..._

He yelled atop of his lungs. "Midoriko!"

His voice echoed in the halls of stone, loud and thundering, as the name that pounded in his mind.

He screamed again. "MIDORIKO!"

This time, a moonbeam shifted and Inuyasha was sure he could almost see a silhouette standing right there in the darkness, between the twists of petrified demonic corpses.

Her eyes, however, were clear to see. They carried a pain and longing that mirrored his own. So he stepped closer, hoping to get a better look.

In a moment he was face to face with a woman of great beauty and a soul so great it had conquered everything. And her eyes were still so lonely…

"Is it true?" He whispered, almost afraid of his own question. "Kagome, she…?"

"Yes," she answered, as translucent tears streamed down her face, constricted in pain. "It is true."

* * *

 **A/N: Please remember this chapter needs at least two reviews before I can publish the next one!**


	25. War

**A/N:** At the beginning of this chapter, we recall an incident from Sesshomaru's perspective. You might want to re-read Chapter 10: Filial Responsibility before continuing with this one. You might question the reason, but I just want to show a tad more of the contrast of their relationship in the past with their relationship in the present.

Let this serve as a warning (and reminder) that we're going to be experiencing some flash backs and flash forwards. Try to keep an eye on details not to get confused about them.

Also, remember Kagome taught Sesshomaru all she knew about English? We'll see the results of that experience in this chapter.

 ** _FOR A BETTER EXPERIENCE_** try to get some epic background music around the middle of this chapter. It makes it all better! **[slash] watch?v=4un7Jedpicg** did the trick for me while writing!

 **ALSO AND VERY IMPORTANT! (lolwhat)** I started publishing two new stories and already updated DMGAS; these are Strictly Business (about Dr. in biochemistry Sesshomaru Taisho and his favorite escort the broke student Kagome Higurashi) and The Fall (where Kagome never falls down the Well and encounters Inuyasha in the Goshinboku after asking the Gods for an alternative to the boring life she's doomed to live). I hope you guys give them a shot!

As usual, special thanks to _**Kim**_ who is not only the best beta ever, but also won't let me write sonfics for my own good T.T

* * *

 **War**

"Sango's baby's gonna be born soon, she's almost nine months now." Kagome carefully poured the liquid, smiling softly to herself.

"Hnn." Sesshomaru received the dreaded sakazuki and lifted it to his lips with one hand, eyes fixed on those pink lips, and there was a minute of silence.

The moon shone bright in the sky, the crickets filled the night. And still he felt scorching heat make its way through his body while staring at that tender, pink flesh.

"Would you stay?"

His breath froze and two golden orbs darted to hers. What did she mean? Her voice was doing something to him, or maybe it was that horridly smelling beverage, which was unlikely because he still hadn't even tried it, but if she had just asked him to spend the night…

He inhaled deeply, concealed behind the cup, looking for the slightest hint of arousal in her intoxicatingly feminine scent. He ignored the voice in his head that purred and begged for it to be there, hoping for a miracle, supplicating that she really had meant to ask his company through the night.

He didn't understand why.

But after testing the air, he found no sign of excitement. Except, of course, his own… which was disturbing.

"In case something happens," she clarified within the second, as if sensing her invitation could be misinterpreted, almost reading his mind.

With a swift motion, he downed his cup.

It tasted atrocious, but he had to try and drown whatever the hell had gotten into him and was eager for a taste of the priestess, even if it was with this ungodly brew.

She spoke, but he didn't hear. A very clear image of his tongue savoring her skin formed in his mind. He could picture her moans so clearly, her scent was so thick in the air he could almost feel her flavor in his palate. A shudder.

He could seduce her… They were alone, she had invited him into her house, offered liquor… She was a free, young, appetizing female. Her perfume indicated both purity and maturity, and he wondered just how her scent tinted with ripeness would smell.

As she offered the newly filled cup, the creamy skin of her wrist displayed under her sleeve, he fought, and fought hard, not to grasp her hand and pull her against his body, making her feel the things she was doing to his concentration. She… she…

Maybe alcohol was not a good idea.

"Drink." He noticed his hand had moved on its own, ready to take hers. Just the faintest of contacts would be enough to make him lose control. Of that, he was sure.

"M-me? Why?"

 _Because I might let go of the weak hold I have over my own body in this very moment if I have to down more of that sake_. He swallowed. "Respect."

"Oh… Sorry."

She gulped the warm liquid in a single motion, like he had before. Her throat exposed so temptingly made him realize he had never wanted a female as much as he wanted to take this miko now. He actually never had wanted a female for longer than a second. Any that struck him fancy, after a single word, would be his.

Her face scrunched adorably and she coughed. His mind was so committed to keep his façade in place he even suppressed the smirk that wanted to emerge.

She wiped away tears and sniffed. "How can you like this!? Goodness, it was horrible!"

 _I agree_ , he mentally added, eyes locked with hers.

Kagome giggled. "If I didn't know you I'd say you are trying so hard not to laugh at me."

 _I am trying so hard not to take you right now on the floor…_ "Hnn." Since when did his mind supply thoughts and words that were so vulgar?

"Please don't ever ask me to drink that again."

"It is traditional we share equal amount of cups."

"I-is it? Well, that's one for one."

"Usually they are five."

"Well… we need new traditions anyway… You can have my share."

He sighed. He could not deny her request without dishonoring her, but if the alcohol did stir his blood his pack-mate could be endangered by his presence. This meeting would truly test his self-control. She giggled again, the sound sending shivers down his spine, angling the tokkuri to pour the crystal clear brewage of doom.

She talked again, but he didn't listen. Only after a few seconds her words sank in. Her infantile trust was adequate from a pack-mate, tiresome but honoring. The liquid went down his throat, but he still said nothing.

"You can't get drunk, can you?"

His eyebrow rose. _For your own safety, I hope not…_

"Right, none of my business. More?"

"Hnn."

She kept on chatting, and babbling, and pouring alcohol, and he thanked every deity he knew of when she finally yawned and got ready for bed.

Soon, he realized his gratitude had been premature.

When she allowed him to turn back after changing, he discovered she was wearing a tight cotton yukata that hugged her body, and heavens, she looked sinfully enticing. She extinguished the fire in the pit, said good night, and slipped into the futon, leaving him in the darkness, sitting against the opposite wall.

When he heard her breathing slow, indicating she was asleep, he slithered close with mute steps. He knelt by her side, and his hand shook despite his best attempts against it, ghosting over the dip of her waist, dying to touch her.

He clenched his fist and fled from the hut. The cold air of the night brushed his face, and he realized he was breathless. What the hell was wrong with him? Since when did he act like a pup in heat around a _human_? A human marked by his own half-brother!

She was his responsibility, the closest to a sister he would ever get. He could not be tempted like this by her!

It was settled. Whatever had happened to him tonight was an incident that would not be repeated. Come morn, everything would be back to normal…

* * *

Sesshomaru opened his eyes slowly, and found a mane of black hair pooled around white, milky skin that he leaned in to taste with a kiss. Kagome smiled when she felt his lips on her nape.

He had been dreaming of a memory; the first time he felt the call for her body, a body he was now free to experience any moment he desired. And he desired to do so now.

Kagome took a sharp breath when his claws teased her flesh, from her abdomen up, caressing her naked chest softly, and a tiny moan escaped her lips when the contact became more urgent.

She turned and kissed his cheek, his brow, his neck. With a wicked smirk, she dragged her dull teeth against the pale column of his throat, and although he offered no sound of surrender, he conceded her the dominance she demanded in a perfect canine fashion.

The miko rolled him on his back, straddling his frame and leaning for another kiss, smiling softly at him, like every morning, just like she had promised over nine years ago. His palms caressed her lower back, and she bit her lip, her body reacting immediately to his alluring touch.

Suddenly, he stopped in his ministrations, and growled low, frustrated.

"What is it?" She asked, concerned.

"Someone approaches…" He focused his hearing. "It is Jaken."

Kagome rolled her eyes and placed her forehead on his shoulder. "It's way too early for the real world to catch up with us."

"It is still nighttime. This must be urgent… It _better_ be."

Little steps hurried down the corridor and Kagome sighed. "Lord Sesshomaru!" Hissed the kappa's voice, low in a failed attempt to not wake his mistress. "Milord, something has occurred…!"

The toad squealed when the door slid open, and Sesshomaru, still tying the white undergarment that was his robe, stared at his servant. "Yes, Jaken?" He compelled after a few moments.

He snapped out of it. "Milord! A messenger just arrived bringing news from Lord Tsuyoshi of Satsuma! They need urgent reinforcements at his palace, the armies of the fortress of Takeda attacked during the night, and they require your assistance immediately!"

Kagome was at the door in a moment, dressed in her miko garments and chest and thighs covered in armor, her cuirass made of bronze colored leather plates, a dagger at her waist, bow tight in her grasp, and quiver full. "Well, let's go then. You get dressed," she told her husband. "I'll get everyone ready. Jaken!"

"Y-yes, milady?" He stuttered, seeing his Lord returning back into the room.

"How bad is the situation? How many troops should we take?" The way the kappa paled spoke for itself. "Everyone, then. Go, Jaken, set guards to look after the village while we're gone. Inuyasha should be back in the next couple of days, so you are in charge until he returns. We'll keep in touch. Make sure the messenger gets some rest."

She took off, running, and Jaken panicked in his place, bouncing for a second, before rushing across the huge house and to the front door.

In mere seconds, Sesshomaru was dressed, his bone and metal armor shining and eager for battle, swords fastened by his side. He rushed behind his mate, and when he caught up, Kagome found herself in the arms of her taiyoukai, taken outside the building into the village, where she rang a large, bronze bonsho bell with the aid of the beam hanged from the outside, alerting the residents of the settlement in the skirt of the hill.

* * *

Shippo ran, making a mad dash for the back of the house, where demons where lining up, and generals were discussing how to approach the situation. His little paws scratched across the grass when he came to a stop, closer to the troops than he knew he was allowed.

Kagome turned in confusion only to see the kitsune there, panting, emerald eyes staring at her, pleading, and she smiled, full of patience.

She excused herself, leaving her mate to handle the tactical details, and walked a few steps to pull the fox in her arms.

Walking away, she sat with the kit in a stone bench under a plum tree and caressed his bangs. "What are you doing up? It's just a couple of hours past midnight."

"I heard the bell," he answered, not once stopping rubbing his cheek against hers, arms hugging her tightly. "You leavin' again?"

"Yes, we have to."

"I'm coming with you!"

She pulled him back to stare into his eyes. "You won't do such thing and if I find out you followed us I'm going to be more angry than you've ever seen me."

"But…!"

"None of that. Think of it. We couldn't fight if we had to protect you. And if you don't give me your word of honor right now that you won't follow, I'll be distracted all the time. Promise me you'll stay here where it's safe…" She hooked a finger under his chin, making him meet her eyes. "Could you do that for me?"

When he didn't answer, she smiled.

"Besides, Jaken's gonna be in charge. I think it could be a great opportunity to test some of your new tricks, don't you think?"

Not even the permission to commit mischief seemed to affect him, and she sighed.

"Shippo, please, I need you to do this for me."

"Is everything alright?" Sesshomaru voiced, walking towards his mate and the kitsune.

Kagome shook her head. "Shippo wants to tag along, and he's not being very cooperative in this negotiation."

He sat by Kagome's side, and spoke in a tender tone. "Shippo, do you understand why Kagome does not allow you to accompany us?"

He glanced to the side, huffing. "She thinks I'm weak."

Before she could speak, he continued. "She believe no such thing. Both she and I have watched you train and improve. Your swordsmanship develops every day; your control on magic is exceptional. Never had I heard of a kitsune who would mature prematurely, therefore attaining a new tail decades before it was time. It is a feat no one else ever has achieved in history, as far as we know."

Shippo looked up at him, scowling. "Then why can't I go? I could help! I'm faster and stronger than some of the demons in your army anyway!"

"Because she is afraid, and so am I." The fox's eyes widened like plates, before the taiyoukai placed a hand over his head. "We would mourn the falling of our troops, but do you believe we could survive losing you?" When the boy gaped, he resumed. "You are pack, Shippo. Family. We could never forgive ourselves if anything happened to you. Your safety is far more valuable than any victory in any war. Without your word that you will keep our treasure, which is you, safe, we could not fight to protect you or the others. We need you to do something far more important than defeating enemy soldiers; we need you to give us a reason to fight for our home."

Kagome smiled at her mate, proud and moved, and the kit in her lap sighed hugging her tightly, hiding the tears that shone in the corners of his eyes. "Alright, I'll stay here, but don't ask me to like it. When I'm older, I'm going with you. I hate waiting here, not knowing what's happening with you two."

The miko spoke. "I'll send messengers and you can write us, too. Hopefully, we won't be away for too long."

Shippo nodded, and smiled.

* * *

Less than an hour later, at least two hundred youkai and hanyou lined the plain in front of the home, already surrounded by guards.

In just a handful of years, the demon village had grown great and powerful, feared and acknowledged, but as a thing of myth.

Still, the roar of the creatures ready to go to war was very real.

"We march west. Fight bravely, for survival, for honor, for vengeance," snarled Sesshomaru, his five generals repeating his words with howls, growls, and screeches for all the youkai to hear.

In seconds, a mass of creatures advanced down the hill, taking air and earth, running, slithering, and flying, screaming war cries, the thundering rhythm of metal plates clashing while moving.

Being the only human in their army, Kagome was cradled in her mate's embrace, his right hand holding her by the waist in the very first row of their troop. She stood, a palm resting on his chest and another in the back of his armor, head leaned against moko-moko, feeling safe despite running to battle before sunrise.

She yawned, and Sesshomaru chuckled. "Have we been ripped from our bed too early for your taste, my mate?"

"Well, who am I to complain about duty calling at ungodly hours…" He smiled, but didn't answer. She snuggled closer and kissed the underline of his jaw. "Please, remember, I don't need a hero, I just want my mate and husband to be safe and back home with me when this is all over."

He looked down at her with the most sincere love in his eyes. "I promise to never leave your side. Not today, not ever."

She smiled against moko-moko "I'll hold you to that."

There was a contrast between the tenderness of their closeness and the feral race to aid their allies. But the roar of war didn't take that moment away from Kagome.

Resting against ivory white fur, she sighed. "I love you more than anything."

Her words were lost in the thunder of imminent battle, even for his ears.

* * *

Sesshomaru watched. The fire in the fortress was a beacon that shone in the horizon. Barking a single order, he saw crow demons fly ahead to assess the situation in order to prevent the youkai troops succumbing to imminent dangers.

Less than an hour later, flying at top demonic speed, they returned, having lost a man, to inform the state of the Fortress of Tsuyoshi, indicating the outer wall had been brought down with the help of some very strange siege weapons that resembled the feared tanegashima, which Kagome understood was a primitive matchlock, only larger and louder.

Her breath caught in her throat. "They have cannons…"

Sesshomaru stared at the ignited distance. "They can be heard from the distance."

The crows continued their report, warning of the amount of troops and generals they had spotted, alerting the others profusely of the holy men that joined the units of infantry in small groups of two or three, and totaling up to twenty four.

Gasps were heard and word spread through the demonic tumult.

Kagome turned to Sesshomaru. "Do your thing," she said in an odd variation of English and modern Japanese they had developed across the years to communicate solely to one another, causing the five generals next to them to understand they were not welcomed in their conversation. "Motivate them. They're getting scared, and we're gonna need them in top shape."

Sesshomaru nodded. "What do you know about these pieces of artillery the scouts reported?" He inquired in kind.

She cocked her hip and her eyebrow rose. "I _always_ try to warn you about future inventions, and only _now_ you decide you're interested in my bit of news?"

"Need had not arisen."

She sighed. "They're right, they are like the tanegashima; similar concept, greater firepower. So, tell them not to mind the fire and smoke, but to try to dodge the bullets. Those are the problem."

Her husband nodded. "They are loud. We should have enough time to evade them."

"Still, we need those things pointing away from the fortress, or there will be nothing left by the afternoon," she stared in the exact opposite direction of the siege, seeing as the sky grow clearer behind them. The blinding light in the eyes of their opponents would be to their advantage, so they had to get moving before the sun had completely risen. "I think we're gonna need something big and fast above them."

Sesshomaru agreed with a nod. "I would not trust such an endangering task to another."

She grinned. "Glad you think you're up to the challenge, because I'm coming with you!"

His eyes narrowed, this time speaking in simple Japanese. "Kagome, no."

"Kagome, _yes_."

* * *

The swing of a shakujo splashed blood in a perfect arc, and man with a broken neck fell to the ground, a cheek on the dirt, the only visible eye rolled backwards and staring lifelessly at the sky.

Yutaka panted with sharp intakes of breath, beads of sweat crowning his brow, feral eyes snapping from an adversary to the next.

He knew they were there as a reinforcement, in case the small demonic army guided by the dog and his whore appeared, but waiting was certainly tedious.

No one would dare to lay a hand on a holy man, and so his opponents were taken off guard which was, in his opinion, utterly amusing.

His palm dragged from his wet forehead and back into his ashen hair. He was in his fifties now, but spilling enemy blood, of a youkai or anyone who dared to associate themselves with them, made him feel young and mighty. Eradicating the infidels one at a time, cleansing the world.

The two acolytes accompanying him had had no option but to join the unnecessary act of violence. He was their superior, and had to be respected.

A shrill howl of terror indicated the approach of the presence he had felt in the verge of his senses for the last hour and a half. He knew they were coming, not only because he could feel them but also because one of his brothers in soul had taken down one of the foul creatures.

However, at the sight, he couldn't help but grin frantically, a hint of madness in his wild eyes. "Now we're talking…"

The monstrous roar of the celestial dog shook the earth, and every holy man was gathering near to the taiyoukai, forming a barrier between the coming demons and the siege. That's what they were there for.

Sesshomaru's colossal form strode across the sky, plummeting and crushing enemies with fangs or claws, drooling acid while snarling viciously.

Yutaka barked an order to a samurai, who quickly surrendered his bow and quiver. The monk knotted a sutra to the thin wood and shot without wasting another second.

A flare of white energy came to life, like the tail of a comet, and just when he thought it would hit the mark a bright, pink flash collided with it, diverting it.

He hissed and exhaled, exhilarated. "Lady Kagome joins her master."

From her place between her mate's shoulder blades, Kagome's eyes narrowed. She had spotted him within seconds, his attack only confirming it.

She spoke in her husband's ear, and the gigantic head nodded. Dropping again, this time Kagome slipped down his back, and her feet connected with what was left of the outer wall.

He kept a close eye on her, but he knew, after almost ten years, that she could manage. He trusted her with his life, and it was mutual.

The miko sprinted down the wooden stairs directly into the fray, the string of her arrow tensing and loosening, singing the same note over and over again, as she made her way through the battlefield.

Occasionally she glanced up, to make sure her husband was doing well. Several large winged demons served as mounts for their best archers. With them, and the help of the many wind youkai in their ranks, every holy arrow aimed at the sky troops was blocked.

Kagome ran, making up for the wasted seconds, spotting Yutaka, who was engaged in battle with an enemy samurai, in a moment.

She didn't need to express her rage, give him a discourse of how his soul was condemned. No, she simply aimed and shot.

The voice of one of the acolytes pierced the air and he fell dead, protecting his superior with his own body and saving him from a certain shot.

The monk's head snapped, eyes fixed on her, and a lunatic smile crept wide in his face. "Almost thirteen years and you have not aged a day, milady Kagome. Am I correct to assume this is one of the perks of being a demon's whore?"

Kagome notched a second arrow and shot again, ignoring his voice, but his staff blocked the projectile. Another, and again. He strode closer, making Kagome step back. In a second, he was swinging his staff dangerously close to her face, causing her to trip back.

His shakujo collided against the unforgiving floor with a loud chiming when she rolled over to avoid it. The next swing connected with her shoulder and the sharp spikes broke her skin, causing her to yelp in pain.

Before he managed to attack again, Kagome swept her foot on the ground, kicking both of the man's ankles. She scrambled to her feet and took distance, before notching a new arrow and shooting.

He stood and jumped over the corpse of the acolyte who had saved his life, ignoring it. This time, the arrow brushed his thigh and red droplets dripped down.

The miko eluded soldiers and swords, putting distance between the enraged monk and her, shooting an occasional arrow in his direction, which he evaded or diverted.

She panted, making way towards a clearer area where she could get a more certain shot. Suddenly a horseman bumped her, the strong chest of the animal colliding with her injured shoulder, and this time she did scream. A hand on her wound, she didn't react quickly enough. Her head bounced against the stone floor and everything went black around the edges.

Before the sharp pain manifested itself, she stood again, dazzled, and tried to walk away, but a strong hand closed around her wrist and, not truly realizing what was happening yet, she found herself face to face with the crazed man.

He grinned amiably, caressing her wounded shoulder with a thumb, before viciously connecting a blow to her temple with the back of his hand, knuckles bleeding at the strength of the impact.

She fell to the floor, and begged the Gods that her husband hadn't done something as stupid as trying to save her if he heard her scream or saw her fall.

She was going to die. Between the mass that was her confused mind those two thoughts were the only ones clear enough. She was going to die, and Sesshomaru would be there, watching her give her last breath; and then the idiot would get himself killed too.

"No, go away," she murmured, begging her husband had heard.

Yutaka fisted the collar of her clothes and pulled her level with his face. "You cannot run away from me anymore, milady Kagome."

The roar that sounded behind him had every human in range turning to watch in terror. Sesshomaru's snarl sent ice through their veins, acid falling from the colossal maw, pooling on the ground and eating the stone away.

"No, go away, leave me," she hissed again, and Yutaka understood.

He leaned forward and whispered in her ear. "You will die, but only after I make sure you see the male who defiled you being consumed away into nothingness."

"D-don't hurt him," she begged, coming a bit more to her senses and starting to feel the pounding in her head.

"He will suffer," he tossed her to the ground and Sesshomaru's jaws immediately closed, snapping close. He moved fast, too fast for a human, and when a dreaded sutra almost brushed his skin, Sesshomaru jumped back. A twist of fur and light and the taiyoukai's whip flashed from his fingers, twirling around the shakujo and melting the middle with a single pull.

He felt it almost a second too late. The other acolyte had caught up and sent his attack directly to Sesshomaru's back. He dodged the slim piece of paper and turned. With a flick of his wrist, and the sizzling of poison, the acolyte's body crumbled, cut in a perfect slash from his shoulder to the opposite dip of his waist, both halves twitching for a moment in a pool of his own blood before breathing his last.

"SESSHOMARU!" She screamed and he ducked, Yutaka's attack barely missing, and brushing his kimono.

He whirled and his hands clasped the wrists of the monk, who held two sutras in his hands. Normally a human would not be a match, but his energy was being drained by the holy man's aura, and Sesshomaru was suddenly on one knee, shaking and hardly holding him in place.

He knew he could not survive this.

"Your species is doomed," Yutaka hissed with a maniac smile, bending over the taiyoukai, caging him and forcing him to stare into his eyes. "We will find your hiding place even if we must turn every stone and burn every forest. And not a single one will stand. Not your mate, not spawn, not your brother… _no one will survive our vengeance_ …"

The splash of blood came with a gurgle from his throat. Sesshomaru observed in astonishment, seeing his wife pierce across the monk's throat from side to side with a silver dagger, and twist the blade, before pulling forward and tearing his larynx with a clean cut that sent red splattering everywhere.

"Nobody threatens my pack," she susurrated without even realizing, before dropping the knife.

When the monk's body collided with the ground, two hands grasping his torn flesh before he stopped moving completely, Kagome couldn't believe he was really dead. She launched herself to her mate's arms, sobbing frantically, trembling, and holding him tightly.

"I thought he was going to kill you! Oh God, I really thought he was!"

"He would have…" The taiyoukai squeezed her closer in his embrace. "You have saved my life," he murmured in awe against the skin of her neck.

* * *

 **A/N:** Remember this chapter needs to have at least two (maybe I could start to ask for three now that we reached 80?) reviews before I can post the next one. Hope you enjoyed!


	26. Bloodlines

**A/N:** As usual, special thanks to _**Kim**_ who not only is the best beta ever, but also throws sand ::panic::

* * *

 **Bloodlines**

"If he spent more resources in keeping his borders protected," Kagome hissed, annoyed by the headache that hadn't left since Yutaka's beating, "we would be celebrating the fall of the Shiroari Order, not a single victory…"

"Patience," soothed her mate.

The miko sighed and leaned against his shoulder, when a servant kowtowed by their side. "Milord Sesshomaru-sama, milady Kagome-sama, the master of the house wishes to have a word privately."

The taiyoukai nodded, dismissing the man, before turning to her. "Will you come?"

"Do I have a choice?"

"I am aware of how little you tolerate this human."

She snorted. "I'll behave."

* * *

A surprised smile was replaced by a suspicious glare when she detected Rin sitting on her heels by the lord, eyes lowered. She realized immediately something was wrong, but she kept her mouth shut.

Her three daughters were by her side, with equally formal positions. Kagome was relieved to see them grown and healthy, considering how rarely they had the chance to see them.

She sat by her mate's side, and waited for the Daimyo of Satsuma to take his place. He spoke, voice rough and tone feignedly sweet. "This Tsuyoshi knows you are a busy one, Lord Sesshomaru, so I will be hasty. There is an important favor I require, and I am afraid I cannot accept a 'no' for an answer."

A muscle jumped in the demon's jaw, and his eyes narrowed. "Therefore there is not courtesy you request, but you make a demand."

"You must understand my most precious possession is at stake. My beloved Rin, the light of my days, is with child, and after the attack my palace suffered the day before yesterday, you understand she is not safe here."

It was Kagome's turn to hold back her ire.

"She and my daughters cannot remain here. I request you take them to the safety of your village, where no enemy has ever laid eyes on."

 _So this is it,_ Kagome thought bitterly. _This is how he gets rid of them and starts from scratch with some whore, without losing us as allies_.

She refused, however, to deny refuge to her own adoptive niece and her children, so she rushed to answer. "Of course. We will depart to our lands as soon as our soldiers are in shape to travel." She smiled softly at Rin. "Congratulations, by the way."

The young woman smiled and nodded. When her eyes met her aunt's, however, mute words were crossed.

 _Something's definitely going on_ …

"For the past six months, we had a personal escort assigned to my wife by the chief of the youkai taijiya. She will need her defender, here or away, so I insist you exchange a word with Kohaku-sama regarding these matters."

She nodded. "Of course."

* * *

No maidens, no daughters, no bodyguards, no soldiers, no husbands. Getting Rin alone to be able to chat took Kagome almost a whole week. It was fortunate they finally had time to talk honestly just then, since they would be leaving the Satsuma Fortress first thing the next morning.

Having her niece cornered, Kagome sat by her side on the stone bench of the garden. "Spill the beans quickly before the maiden comes back!"

She almost jumped, but immediately averted her eyes. "If I don't have a son this time, he'll forget about us."

The fear was so thick in her voice, Kagome's heart constricted. "Don't worry about this prick. The Shiroari Order is too weakened after this blow. We'll take them down, we don't need him anymore. If he gives you up, he won't have us to protect his palace, and you'll come to live with us, or you can go back to Edo, or you can even go to the taijiya village."

The dove-eyed girl bit back a sob, and nodded, holding her swollen belly tightly and protectively.

"Rin."

Kagome started at Sesshomaru's voice, noticing his hardly contained rage. His sharp golden eyes were rimmed with red, and a growl was held back deep in his chest.

Rin's eyes couldn't meet the taiyoukai's. She knew the question was coming since she'd seen him stare at her baby daughter playing in the gardens with the older two.

"The child you carry," he spoke, not waiting for her acknowledging. "And your youngest… they were not sired by the Satsuma Lord."

Kagome gasped, and turned to ask for confirmation from her niece, who had tears streaming her face freely.

The princess bolted from her place and kowtowed at her once lord's feet. "I am a dishonorable woman, Sesshomaru-sama," she whispered. "I have brought shame to my house and through our bond I have tainted your name. It would be your right to end my life."

"Raise, Rin," he said in a neutral tone, making the girl sit on her heels, still not meeting his eyes. The taiyoukai knelt by her side, placing a hand on the crown of her head, just like he used to eighteen years ago. She sniffed. "A faithless husband does not deserve the devotion of a truthful wife. I approve of your actions."

She sobbed pathetically, feeling the paternal love he still had for her after so long, relishing in the sense of protection his presence gave her. He was still her Sesshomaru-sama… "Thank you," she murmured.

"Does Kohaku know?"

Kagome had to bite her tongue not to squeal. She covered her mouth while gasping dramatically. "He's the…?"

Rin gulped and nodded. "He knows, yes."

"Has he vowed himself to you?"

"To love me and guard me like a husband to a wife."

"His honor is intact, then. If you are to remain at our house, rest assured no one will stop you from living as a married couple. If you desire to return to Edo, we will speak in your name to your kin."

She finally gathered the courage to look up at him. "Thank you so much…"

* * *

"Kagome, why do you cry?" He asked, hearing the soft sobs and smelling the salt.

"It's nothing," she whispered, hiding against his chest, covering her face with the sheets.

Sesshomaru sat on the futon, pulling her with him, and pressing her against his body in an embrace. "I cannot fix what troubles you if you keep it a secret."

It took her several dragging minutes of soothing words and caresses to finally speak. "I couldn't stop thinking about Rin and Kohaku, and how I really want them to be happy together… I was already too emotional, and then… I remembered how I almost lost you last week."

"But I am still here."

She nodded, her tears trailing down his skin. "But still, seeing that monster Yutaka, about to hurt you, about to take you away from me… I was so scared… I think I got a late reaction."

"The wellbeing of our troops and then Rin kept you busy. You had not dwelled on it."

She sniffed. "Gods, if I lost you…"

"You will not, Kagome. Stop thinking of it."

"We never brought them back… Kouga-kun, Ayame-chan, their cubs, Ah-Un… When they kill you, they kill you forever. If I lose you to them, I'll live for eternity, and it'll be without you. I won't even find you in another life."

He sighed. "You would not find me in the next life either way, since youkai do not reincarnate."

She looked up at him. "They don't?"

"No, it is a gift the gods bestowed upon humanity. We live longer lives instead."

"Then there won't even be a ghost for me to talk to!"

"We do not become spirits either. We descend to the netherworld, before our souls are cleansed. Then, our essence returns to the earth. Only humans have the choice of staying as a spirit or returning to the living in a new form. If I fall before you do, Kagome, do not search me among the dead. Find me in the air you breathe."

Her lower lip trembled, and she hugged him tightly. "You're not helping! That means I can't even have you in heaven if they erase your soul like it never existed!"

He suppressed a chuckle. "I believe there is a solution to your fear."

"Huh?"

"I will see to it as soon as we arrive to the village. Totousai's services will be once more required." She gave him a suspicious look, and he smirked. "Sleep, Kagome. I promise my soul will not disappear into nothingness."

"Not tonight not ever?"

He chuckled. "Not tonight, not ever."

* * *

Sango blinked, bringing attention to the diminutive wrinkles at the sides of her eyes, the light filtering from the door of her home shining on half of her face.

"This is a mess to explain," Kagome groaned. How had Rin convinced her of facing Sango in her name? "Do you want me to repeat it?"

"No, I understand just fine that my daughter and my brother are having their second child and I just found out," the woman replied.

"Well… lucky you at least they're not really blood related. I don't think they ever saw each other as family, honestly."

Her friend's eyes narrowed. "Ah, so you _knew_ …"

Kagome laughed awkwardly. "I caught them kissing once nine years ago. No biggie. So, you're not angry, are you?"

Sango sighed. "I always wondered why Kohaku wouldn't say anything… He's been making eyes at her since the day he realized he wouldn't die by Naraku's hand… I hope Miroku takes it as well as me. We've wanted to kill Tsuyoshi ever since the day we met him. Maybe it will serve to cheer him up about this mess."

"There's one more thing. I don't think we should send her back to Tsuyoshi. Ever. Even if the baby's a boy, it's better for everyone if he just forgets about her and she and Kohaku can be happy."

Sango nodded. "I wouldn't send my girl back to that pig even if my life depended on it."

She clapped her hands in front of her face. "Good! 'Cause I've got an idea."

* * *

The crate was made of rich, dark cherry wood, with bronze details, and Kagome had to rip her eyes from it to stare at her husband's. "For me?"

"Yes. A gift I hope pleases my mate and placates her fears."

She opened the lid and stared at the perfectly polished red bow in it. "Gods, it's beautiful."

"Take it."

Her hands brushed the wood and it tingled against her skin. "It… it feels like you," she murmured while inspecting the saiguu-yumi closely.

"And it will feel like you once you imbue it with your purification powers."

She stared intently at the perfectly carved longbow. "There's something familiar about it…" A gleam caught her eye. _The string… is silver!_

He smiled when she noticed it. "The string was made with my hair and youki. In your bow, Kagome, rests a piece of my power. Even if I were to fall in battle, you would still hold a part of my soul. No matter if my essence is completely purified, I will be with you."

Tears gleamed in the corners of her eyes and she hugged him tightly. "Thanks, this… this means a lot to me."

"Woman, I refuse to see the end of me any time soon. I have promised you an eternity, and I will fulfill that oath."

"Yeah, you better, 'cause I've got a chunk of your spirit now, and I'll do bad things to it if you go dying on me."

"I shall keep it in mind."

* * *

The messenger delivered the scroll to the miko, and she read it before releasing a delighted squeal. "Rin's baby's born! It's a boy!"

Jinenji smiled brightly, and Inuyasha lowered from his place atop of a smiling Bokuseno to peek at the written words. "Should we go visit?"

She looked at him surprised, before smiling. "Of course, silly!"

After a frenzy of preparations, everyone was headed to receive the new member of their adopted family. Kagome was pressed against her husband's side, when she heard him chuckle. He answered the question before she could even phrase it. "There was a time when my pack consisted of no one but me… Now, thanks to you, it seems to be growing at monstrous speed."

She giggled. "Don't accuse me of that. You had Rin way before you had me!"

"And you returned her to my pack through our bond. For that, I am thankful."

She kissed his cheek, sending tingles through his body when her lips brushed a stripe. "I don't think Rin ever stopped considering you family."

"I certainly did not."

* * *

"God, he's your clone!" Kagome gasped, looking at the newborn and Kohaku.

The man smiled softly, holding his son against his chest. "I'm so glad we don't have to hide around anymore…"

"So, where are you going to live?"

"At the taijiya village. I'm still the headman, after all. Imagine how surprised the villagers will be when I arrive with a wife and four children… Would you like to hold him?" Kagome nodded brightly and held the boy in her arms. "I'm gonna go get more firewood. Inuyasha, give me a hand?"

The hanyou nodded and strode behind the slayer, leaving a napping kitsune, a miko, and taiyoukai behind.

The miko looked up at her husband, holding the tiny bundle against her chest. "Sesshomaru?"

"Hnn?"

"Let's make a baby?"

* * *

"I hadn't seen you in a long time, my friend," Kohaku commented while gathering the logs.

"Well, yeah, we're always busy lately."

"So I've heard. Nashiko got pretty beaten up last time."

Inuyasha coughed. "Y-yeah… We took down a dragon, and it wasn't an easy fight. She… she did good, though…"

Kohaku's lips turned into a smile. He was about to answer when a feminine voice did for him. "Like hell she did well. She's still al patched up. Now that aunt Kagome's here, she could close those wounds for her." The taijiya turned to see a short haired brunette girl clad in a black bodice and holding a guandao over her shoulder. The female slayer poked the half demon with the bottom tip of her weapon. "You should take better care of my sister," she hissed.

"Hi to you too, Momoko," the hanyou growled.

"Good morning, Momo-chan. In to meet your nephew?"

"Hell yeah! Let me give you a hand with that," she chimed, taking a few logs of her own and setting her weapon in its sheath at her back.

They returned to the hut, finding Kagome and Sesshomaru staring at each other, both extremely rigid and quiet. The female taijiya said her salutations and leaned to kiss the newborn's forehead softly. She then entered the bedroom, following both males, finding Rin and a still wounded Nashiko.

She looked at both of them, and a wicked grin crept on her face while she set her logs on the fire pit. "Nieces… Amiright?"

Their dark red faces were enough to make her snort.

* * *

Sesshomaru hadn't said a single word in response, and she blinked, waiting for his answer. What if he didn't want to have hanyou with her?

Just when she was about to withdraw the offer, Inuyasha stormed out of the other room, fuming and so red Kagome could have sworn his face matched his pants.

"I'm gonna go talk to him," she said quickly, handing the child to her mate, and following her brother in law outside.

She finally caught up with him on the stairs to the shrine, and she couldn't help but laugh at his expression: a flawless combination of embarrassment, panic, shame, and anger. "Inuyasha, calm down, what is it?" He babbled something, and she shook her head. "C'mon, let's go talk somewhere else."

She pulled him by the sleeve, up the stairs and into the woods. When he realized where they were headed, he almost passed out.

Kagome sat between the roots of the Goshinboku, and Inuyasha followed her reluctantly after several long moments. She smiled at him. "What is it?"

"I… Keh! Nothing's wrong, wench, why would it be?"

She cocked her head, grin widening. "Is it about Nashiko?"

The way he almost jumped out of his skin made her let out a bark of laughter. "What does she have to do with anything? What the fuck are you even talkin' about?"

She whipped a tear. "Inuyasha… I've caught you staring at her every single time I've seen you two in the same room. You get so blushed when she passes by, I'd swear you get a fever each time." He opened his mouth, but she cut him off. "I know you are head over heels for her, so don't deny it."

The hanyou gulped and after several long minutes, he looked away, ' _khe_ ing' loudly.

Kagome hugged her knees and leaned forward. "Why don't you tell her how you feel?"

His eyes darkened, and he kicked a root. "It's still the same."

"Huh?"

"It's the same. I couldn't mate you, and I won't mate her. It's the same. Nothing's changed…"

"Is this about not being able to give her kids? She's a taijiya, Inuyasha, she's got to know."

Inuyasha whirled to look in her eyes so fast she almost didn't caught the movement. His eyes were huge, and he had paled to a sickish yellow. "How did you…? Who told you?" He breathed.

She sighed, hugging her knees more tightly to her chest. "I kinda figured it out between you left and Sesshomaru found me. Nothing else made sense… Still, this isn't about me, it's about her… And _you_ … You should have talked to me, Inuyasha. I should have had some saying in it… It was my future too, ya know…" She looked up at the bright blue sky between the leaves, and shrugged. "I love my life, and I wouldn't change anything… but if you would have talked to me, everything would've been different… What I mean is you should talk to her and give her the choice."

The hybrid felt the air enter his lungs like a knock on his ribcage, lifting the weight of so many years of secrets, and insecurities, and silence. The words of his sister-in-law filtered into his brain a moment later. "Why would I do that?" He asked with a blush, and she giggled again.

"Because… I've caught her staring at you, too."

* * *

 **A/N:** OH. MY. FUCKING. GOD.

So, I started publishing a couple of random fics to procrastinate because I'm a terrible human being, and one of them, _**Strictly Business**_ , got like FREAKISHLY popular. For you to notice the impact, this fic has 46 followers and 24 favs. SB got, in only SIX CHAPTERS, 46 favs and 95 follows and I'm so very conflicted about this... I mean, yeah, SB has a complex plot but it came to me in a shower... I didn't have to work on the plot twists like in this one!

Here are the summaries of all my fics.

 ***The Fall** : _[IN PROGRESS]_ _[Alternative Reality][IN PROGRESS] [InuxKag] [PG-16]_. She never fell down the Well, she never freed him. At 16 years old Kagome Higurashi already knows exactly what life will be to her and she wants more... A mysterious dog-eared boy who pushes her buttons offers an alternative to boredom.

 ***Strictly Business:** _[IN PROGRESS]_ _[Alternative Universe] [SessxKag] [PG-18]_. Dr. in biochemistry Sesshomaru Taisho has no time for or interest in seducing women. Being a practical taiyoukai, he decides to skip the initial steps hiring an escort, who ends up being exactly what his life was missing. Only Kagome Higurashi, petit fantasy-fulfiller at night and bankrupt student by day, can provide him with what he needs... And also, maybe, offer a solution for the demanding investigation that keeps the demon working restlessly.

* **Dear Mama, Gramps, and Souta:** _[IN PROGRESS]_ _[Canon Universe] [InuxKag, SessxRin] [PG-9]_. Kagome's family has tried to move on, but the empty sit in their table reminds them Kagome is gone, and this time it's forever. Years after her daughter's departure, however, Mrs. Higurashi stumbles across a chest that has something far more valuable than a treasure inside. Letter after letter, the family will discover what it was of their sweet Kagome, written and explained by her own hand.

* **Chapter One:** _[Alternative Reality] [ONE-SHOT] [InuxKag] [PG-12] Written on October the 21st 201, paying homenage to the movie Back To The Future II. Topic: Alternative Timelines._ Inuyasha is dead and nothing can bring him back. Kagome closes the Well and returns to her time, where she must try to survive an empty life without her beloved hanyou... Except that maybe... She doesn't have to.

Anyway, if you want to read them, check out my profile. Also, I posted a cover picture on DA for Strictly Business (and it got removed, since allegedly it's CHILD PORN despite Kagome is 19 on the fic and a grown married woman by the end of the canon series); so you can find it on **dokugaDOTcom/gallery?func=detail &id=10780**

I hope this chapter wasn't too bad. I wrote it very sick and started it at 3 am and finished at 9.30 am. I'm destroyed, why do I do this to myself? Possibly the version Kim corrects will make more sense XD

 _ **AS ALWAYS, THIS CHAPTER NEEDS AT LEAST TWO REVIEWS SO I CAN POST THE NEXT ONE!**_

Lots of love ::heart::


	27. Of reality and plausibility

**A/N:** As usual, special thanks to my beta _**Kim,**_ whose birthday is coming up! And she'll get my present late TnT

* * *

 **Of reality and plausibility**

A thunder roared.

 _Wake up_.

Nashiko's face scrunched and she groaned while opening an eye.

The large house that she, her parents, and four of her five living siblings inhabited was quiet, despite hosting the whole family plus several guests. She sat on her futon.

 _Go to him_.

"Jii-chan?" She murmured.

 _Can you feel it? Go now_.

Nodding in the darkness, she rose and, concentrating on the energy surrounding her, she detected the turmoil of a familiar aura. "There's something wrong with Inuyasha…" She whispered.

"Huh?" Momoko shot up, half still snoring, short hair an explosive mess, and looked around with closed eyes. "What is it? M'gonna kill it!"

"Go back to sleep, I've got this," her twin soothed.

"Nh, good." She slurred, collapsing into oblivion immediately.

The long haired taijiya arose from bed, dark brown cascading around her face, and she cursed not having time to ready herself for battle, if one was to occur.

Her wakizashi tucked under her obi, a paper lantern in one hand, she crossed the hallway.

"Nashiko, you felt it too?" Miroku murmured, opening the shoji door and encountering his daughter in the corridor.

"Yeah, dad. I think he's just nervous."

"I should talk to him," the older one opined.

"Nah, don't worry. I'll go."

"S'everything ok?" Kagome's head popped from around the corner. "I felt Inuyasha's youki fidgeting."

"It's ok, Kagome-sama. Nashiko was just in her way to make sure our friend is doing well."

The older miko caught up immediately. "Oooh, right. Well, I'll go back to bed, then."

Hiding her devious grin, Kagome winked and disappeared behind the corridor's angle. Miroku did the same after a moment, but with a warning expression.

Nashiko walked away, an instinctive blush on her cheeks.

Back in their borrowed bedroom, Kagome slid the door closed and grinned to herself.

"What was it?" Sesshomaru voiced from his place on the futon, brushing his hair with his claws.

"Ah, nothing," his mate commented, still acting quite cold towards him since that afternoon. "Just Inuyasha and Nashiko, about to 'fess the hell up."

" _What_!?"

She rolled her eyes before snuggling under the covers. "You know, for someone so perceptive, sometimes you can be really, _really_ blind."

* * *

It was raining.

Inuyasha ignored the droplets sliding heavily down his face and soaking his clothes, the raging sky, the echoes of the mountains, the cold.

The hanyou was far, far away.

He could not remember himself not loving Kikyou.

Then, he could not remember himself not loving Kagome.

And now, he could not remember himself not loving Nashiko.

 _I'm a fucking tramp_.

He smirked at that thought.

How can one love with all he is, and then love again, and then again?

He would have died in the blink of an eye for any of them; would have endured the every single torture, every single insult.

Kikyou had seen a man in him, and for some reason he could not even begin to comprehend, she had loved him.

Then, Kagome made him see a man in himself, a man for whom she would leave everything behind.

Nashiko arrived when the time of revelations was over, when he had learnt to coexist with his darkness. She had not been a messiah, had not been a beacon, a rope, a pillar.

She was simply a companion.

They had seen each other bleed, and had saved each other's lives. In the weakness, in the ground, when he could no longer be the stronger man, she had fought for him, sweat for him, protected him.

Inuyasha had always thought he was the one supposed to be the hero. Nashiko begged to differ.

He was not afraid to be weak in her eyes, she had already see him at his very worst, alone, broken, facing legions of men, holy powers, demons. And yet…

Yet, when she looked at him…

Inuyasha knew Kagome had told the truth.

Nashiko loved him.

It was a bizarre concept. Would he ever get used to the idea of a woman wanting him? Probably not.

The hanyou took a shaking breath.

It was the same. The very damn same. There was no way he could give her a family, and she would be unhappy by his side.

Inuyasha knew that, if he were to speak a word, she'd bound herself to him, and he'd drag her down the abyss of misery that seemed to swirl around him and everything he loved.

 _Fuck_ …

"Hey, big dog, can't sleep?"

The hybrid almost shot right out of his skin.

"Hey, chill! What's got you so jumpy?" Nashiko giggled, sitting by his side, safe of the pouring skies under the wooden roof. She settled her sword and lantern by her side.

"W-wh-w-wh-what ya doin' here!?"

"Your youki's gone bonkers! You woke us up. I thought something was going on, so I told the others I was checking up on you. Everything's alright?"

His face flushed bright. "Uh, yeah, just…"

"…Just?"

"Dunnow… Thinkin'…"

"About?"

His ears flattened back. "Stuff."

She leaned closer; a hand on the new, and actually unnecessary, bandage Kagome had wrapped her in that afternoon. With suspicious and narrowing eyes, she huffed. "Spill."

"What!? Shut it!"

"Inuyasha… Start talking."

His face grew so red she laughed again. "Nothing, just shut up!"

She pulled him by the shoulder of his haori. "C'mon, what is it!"

"Nothin', just leave me alone!" He tried to shrug her off.

"Hey, dog-face, don't talk to me like that! I'm just trying to help!"

"You ain't!"

She forced him to look at her by dragging him by his soaked forelocks. "Well, whose fault is th-!"

It took her a second to register Inuyasha's lips on her own.

Inside his brain, every red alert went off. This was wrong, this was the biggest, most stupid, most radical mistake he had ever, ever, _ever_ …

She sighed against his kiss and her arms encircled his neck. And just like that, every voice was hushed.

Inuyasha couldn't remember wanting a kiss so much, having waited so _long_. Even after sitting by the Well for three springs, anticipating Kagome's return, this felt like a million years, although they had been less than five.

Her mouth was so soft and plum, and her calloused hands felt like the most tender caress wounded in his hair

But he started back. "No! No, _fuck_! Why did I do that!?"

She was panting, and her fingers entwined with his. "I don't know, but do it again…"

"No! Don't you _get_ it? I can't…!" He looked away, ashamed.

The taijiya willed her heartbeat to slow down. "You can't kiss me?"

His ears flattened against his head. "I can't give you anything…"

She sighed. "Inuyasha… I know what you are, I don't care… I wouldn't change a thing."

He shook his head, droplets flying in all directions. "Still, I…" He heard her laugh and he was confused.

"Do you, ah," she giggled, "do you remember that time when we fought that slug youkai? And we ended up covered in slime? Gods, it smelled so _bad_!"

He stared back, stricken. "What's _that_ got to do with…?"

"And the time," she interrupted, snickering, "we fought that fire-breathing sprite? And you lost your eyebrows!?" She barked out laughing, he blushed.

"That's not funny!"

Her eyes softened. "And the time we saved that village in the south, and the kids invited us to play with them?"

He looked at her gentle features. "Yeah… that hadn't ever happened to me before. So many kids wanting to play with me, I mean."

"And when we saved that woman that was in labor and I helped her have her baby?"

"Yeah, I remember."

"And the time we killed that monk that was raping the priestesses?"

"I remember that too."

"And when we helped that small town with their crops, since their men had all gone to war, and we learnt to harvest rice?"

"I remember."

"And when I broke my leg and we had to spend the night in that cave in the blizzard?"

"I remember."

Her eyes suddenly were filled with tears.

"And do you remember… The time we fought the Onihitokuchi that could move faster than you and that Hiraikotsu wouldn't harm?"

That day they both had almost died. His hand tightened around hers.

"Yes, I remember."

"Do you remember… it hurt me?"

"Yeah."

"It gashed me all the way from here to here," she indicated two different points of her abdomen. "And you were healing too, so you didn't hear it. The village healers weren't that good, and they said they had to take… stuff away from inside of me…" She smiled, softly, sadly. "And they said I could never have children, and that's ok."

He paled.

"That's ok. Before I read the scroll I hadn't thought you couldn't either, and I wouldn't have said anything about how I feel because of it, but then I… found it. And I thought that maybe, just maybe… You wouldn't… mind."

She smiled, seeing he had gone mute. "It's ok that you're hanyou, Inuyasha. It's ok if you can't have babies. I would have loved you anyway, but since I can't have them either… Maybe you could let me love you."

Nashiko shrugged. "Maybe we could be less alone together. Isn't that what we've been doing for the last five years?"

He swallowed, then nodded.

She beamed and let her head rest on his soaked shoulder. They watched the rain fall. "Good."

* * *

Once upon a time, there was an Eternal Lord.

He was pale, he was great, and in his brow, the Moon rested, gloriously displayed.

Since the day he was born, luminous and beautiful, a great burden was placed upon his shoulders. Many counted on his wisdom and leadership, and his failure would mean the downfall of an Empire older than Man.

He walked in the shadow of the most exalted of his kind.

The Eternal Lord with the Moon on his brow, son of Grace and Might, devoted his life to the achievement of perfection, for nothing short of it was acceptable to fill his Name.

He trained, because nothing else could matter. There was only one purpose to his life: living up to the expectations.

He became great, and powerful, and feared.

But his dynasty fell in disgrace.

The one before him, the Lord of Might, betrayed his household. He declared his weakness to the Four Winds, and, defending his sin, was killed.

The son of the Might saw his family name in ruins. The work of his life would be to redeem it.

Not only for honor, but to amend his father's betrayal. He had grown in his shadow, and his infamous, traitorous behavior suddenly made him seem so small, so _powerless_ , so _indignant_.

Amending his name, he could amend the memory of his father's greatness. The illusion of perfection would mean his life had not been pointless…

Because, if the Eternal Lord of Might was not perfect, who could be?

Hatred and resentment grew with his power, and he transformed into a ruthless sovereign, taking what he wished, destroying to his whim.

In the darkness of the waning moon, he thrived.

Until he found the seed of weakness in his soul, the pull, the call to protect, to comfort, to _belong_.

He was ruined.

* * *

Sesshomaru looked at the sleeping silhouette of Kagome, who was, by the way, mad at him.

Heavens, he loved her.

The mighty demon, the once Lord of the Western Lands, was a creature of calculated thoughts and even more calculated cravings. But since the human heart found a way to his own, the taiyoukai knew he was doomed.

First, a child, a mere wisp of a creature, who had endured pain with a toothy grin, who had befriended loneliness. And he knew she would be gone in the blink of an eye, that a human life lasted less than a sigh compared to his eternal existence. Forever, he would think, was a long time.

She would be gone, and he would prevail. And the world would return to be red and grey.

Then, a woman, a whim of time and nature, a knot of perfect imperfection that had stirred his blood, had tugged at his soul, had cradled his entire eternal existence against her chest and had _loved him_.

Following the rise and fall of her slumbering outline, the demon felt anything but eternal.

Sesshomaru had never known terror, a fear so overwhelming it could paralyze him whispering the right words in his ear.

Until Kagome.

She was tied to his essence, a part of himself, and she would endure the years, traveling through time, untouched, and yet…

It was a lie.

Seeing her life threatened by the hand of the enemy, Sesshomaru understood one thing.

It was an illusion. One day her blood would spill, the light in her eyes would fade, her heaving breast would stop, and she would _die_.

It was just a matter of _time_.

Time. It had always been that. The caprice of time had brought her to him, and he had tied her to his person, promising to never let go.

Never, he would think, was a long time.

Seeing her injured, threatened, frail, he understood a notion that had escaped him before. Millennia and eternity were not the same thing. One day, after millions of sunsets and sunrises, he, too, would age, and she would do it by his side. And then they would be gone.

That is, of course, if the stars didn't first fade, swallowing it all in their raging path. But then, too, their time would pass.

An instant, an eon, what was the difference? It only meant that, at one point, there would be no more of her to soothe his soul, to balance his world, to _love_ him.

And anything short of _forever_ , regarding Kagome, simply would not do.

Sesshomaru discovered, dreadfully, that his time by his mate would end, that at one point in history, her smile would be a memory.

And then, the afterworld.

If the stories were true… _If the stories were true_.

In eternity, he could not follow her.

His spirit would be cleansed and return to the earth. And she would continue to live, to die before living, and in the wind, he would be watching her come back with a different name. But she would still be _his_ _Kagome._

Would he remember her? Would he find her in every lifetime? Would she feel his eternal devotion in the moonshine that caressed her skin?

And when the universe devoured the Earth, would she cease to exist?

He had everything, and he needed _more_.

Sesshomaru despaired.

Kagome could not die. He was incapable of accepting that she, too, one day, would be beyond his reach.

Except she wasn't.

His soul was tied to hers. They were one. Even if he was gone, because he refused to think of living a single second without her, engulfed by the cosmos, if there was a single crumb of his spirit, or hers, they would both live.

He swallowed around the tightness in his throat.

Souls were eternal, weren't they?

And there was one more detail.

When she asked him to give her a child, he had to physically refrain himself from obliging immediately. But then, the dread of death settled in again, like the white noise when the night was silent, always present, but perceivable only when every other thought was gone.

A child's soul would not be tied to his. It would have a spirit of its own, and when the time came…

 _Oh, Gods, here we go again._

Losing a child was infinitely harder than not having a child at all. And he hesitated.

By his side, his mate's ripe scent called to him. To fulfill the promise of creation, to be God inside her cast, igniting the holy fire of existence, to see her shape and craft a body inside of her very own, like a miracle, and deliver a living, breathing creature, made half of him and half of her. _Theirs_.

 _Ours_.

And then there was the possibility to _lose_ that miracle.

Sesshomaru panicked.

Kagome might had not felt it if she wasn't floating back from a particularly dull dream. When her mate shivered by her side, she cracked an eye open. "Uh?" She said intelligently.

His golden orbs flashed in the night. "Sleep, Kagome," he placated, as neutral as always.

But his gaze. Never, in all her existence, she would have thought she'd see those molten pools of gold look so _terrified._ She forgot her anger.

"Sesshomaru?" She said, urge and contagious panic in her voice. "What is it, what's wrong?"

She righted herself, scooting closer and placing a snowy hand on his forearm. He was sitting by her side, elbows on bent knees, on the borrowed futon in Edo, where they were still visiting Rin and Kohaku; and refused to look at her again.

"Nothing," he answered.

"Nothing my ass. _What happened_?"

He sighed, knowing she would not let go. So many years had taught him this.

"I was thinking of something…" He floundered, looking for the right word. "Dumb."

The chirp of her giggle found his ears. "You think _dumb_ stuff?" Her cheek rested on his shoulder. "Tell me what it was."

"Things over which I have no control."

"Ah… Be more specific?"

He nuzzled her neck. "Time, eternity, death… loss."

She looked at him, with pleading, troubled eyes. "Why does time bother you?"

"Because… Because I lied to myself, and therefore I lied to you. Time will catch up, eventually. Someday, it will all be over."

"Ah…"

"And I will lose you, but half of my soul is yours, and half of your soul is mine. I will have you…"

"Then where's the problem?" She inquired, more confused than ever.

He took a slow, deliberated breath. "A child… will have a soul of its own."

She stared, blankly, hearing all the things he had learnt to tell her without words across the years.

After a minute or so, she spoke. "You're afraid… of never finding our child again."

He nodded.

"Is that why you've been so distant since this afternoon?"

 _ **Me**_ _, the distant one?_ He repressed the need to huff at her. "Forgive me, I did not mean to be _cold."_

She brushed her cheek against his terse, pale skin, ignoring the tone for the sake of peace. "We'll find them."

He looked at her. "Find them?"

"Bokuseno-sama said we'd have two sons. And if there is the slightest chance, we'll find them. No matter if we're dead, or floating, haunting, or… whatever souls do. We'll find them. I swear."

"Kagome."

"I'm sure you can track them down even in eternity. Don't be afraid. You're _the_ bloodhound, hubby!"

She knew him so well.

And then a singularity occurred. Like a red moon, like a double rainbow, like a total eclipse, like a miracle, happening just as if it were nothing, unconcerned of its own rarity, Sesshomaru, hands lowering her and body poised to take her and make their wish come true, grinned, and laughed softly.

* * *

 **A/N:** This chapter needs at least 2 reviews before I can post the next one!


	28. Till death us do part

**A/N:** Guess who's back? Back again? Kazu's back, tell a friend!

Ok, yes, I'm a terrible person, coming back with an insultingly SHORT chapter, but... I'm taking it easy. I've had a hard time adjusting to a new and very demanding job, then some serious shit happened, relationship stuff, school stuff, dog stuff, depression stuff, money stuff...

And apparently I found my motivation today thinking about Kagome's bow, so I said "to hell with my laziness, I'm writing and posting a chapter TODAY."

Wanted to give you a longer one, but! I thought this one had to pocket some very important information, and making it longer would cause the big stuff to drift out of focus.

So! I hope you enjoy the chapter, and stay tuned! I ain't going anywhere, and this story WILL be finished!

As always, special thanks and love to _**Kim**_ , the best beta ever, who is the one who waits for these chapters the most (L)

* * *

 **Till death us do part**

"I'm mating Nashiko," he said, and it wasn't a question.

Two indigo eyes framed by small wrinkles stared neutrally at him from the other side of the table.

They had been friends for years, they had faced hell and worse together, and emerged victorious. They _knew_ each other.

They were brothers.

"No," Miroku said, however.

Inuyasha scowled.

"Yes, I am."

The monk shook his head softly. Because although he knew the hanyou all too well, same as his daughter, he was also aware he should handle this matter with extreme delicacy, or he would lose not one but two members of his family.

"Even if I you had my blessing, which you don't, you couldn't mate her."

Anger bubbled inside his chest, hate, outrage. "And why the _fuck_ not?"

"My blessing or the incapability to mate?"

"Both."

"I do not want you too near my daughter, Inuyasha, because I saw you break Kagome-sama's heart too many times. I do not trust your ability to put your woman's needs before your own. You're one of my dearest friends, but I will not risk Nashiko's happiness by letting her be taken away by the wrong man."

Without thinking, the hanyou bared his fangs threateningly. "Are you serious? Are you fucking serious!?"

"I would dare not to joke over matters so important."

"After everything we've been through, after all the times I saved your sorry ass… You think I would _hurt her_!?"

"You never proved otherwise to me, Inuyasha. You were to Kagome all the bad you could have been."

"You ain't being fair, monk. And you know it."

"Do I? You knew you couldn't give Kagome a family and marked her nonetheless, without her having all the information you _owed her_. This alone would be enough for me to deny you Nashiko's hand, but no, I saw you run off to your old love over, and over, and over again… Do you know who had to stay behind to pick up the pieces? Us. Sango and Shippo and me, we saw her cry, we saw her fight her feelings, we saw her _wish she never met you_. Then, you promised a future, and betrayed her again… After she gave up her family for you, after she gave up her _world_ for you…"

The hybrid opened his mouth to repute his accusations, but the other raised a threatening right hand to keep him quiet. A hand that still looked alien not clothed in purple and beads.

"No, you will listen. Now, you want to take my child, the sweet baby girl I saw bloom since she fitted in the palms of my hands into a woman, and you don't even have the _decency_ to request her in marriage the way it is customary. I don't doubt Nashiko's feelings for you, or yours for hers, but I also don't doubt your feelings for _Kagome-sama_."

Inuyasha paled. "What the fuck are you even _talking about!?"_

"I saw you, Inuyasha. I saw you waiting three years by that Well, not knowing if she would ever come back, knowing you shouldn't have her if she did. I saw you struggle. I saw you promise yourself you wouldn't mark and mate her, but you were weak, your control started to slip away, and so you wouldn't force her into a less than plentiful life, you ran… Do you want me to believe you don't love her still? That it doesn't kill you seeing her with your only brother even after all these years?"

Miroku was only fully aware of his movements when the red blur pinned him to the wall, his head banging against it, and claws tightly wrapped around his throat. Not that he hadn't expected it.

"Who the _hell_ do you think you are, monk!? You know nothing. _Nothing_!"

The priest was impassive. He stared down at the hanyou, his feet dangling several centimeters from the ground. He spoke tightly around the clasp of the hand on his neck. "I am your friend, and Kagome-sama's friend, and Nashiko's father. Do _not_ insult me by denying what you and I both know."

The other snarled, but after a few more tense seconds, released his hold.

Miroku highly graciously rubbed the sore spot.

"So what I'm supposed to do? You want me to sulk like a fucking puppy after Kagome for the rest of my fucking life? She's mated, Miroku! _To Sesshomaru!_ If… if it was anyone else, maybe… maybe I could, but… Fuck, she's always there. And… and…"

He gritted his teeth and fisted his hand in his hair. "So I gotta learn to live with that. And that's fine, I'm fine with it. And Nashiko doesn't mind. She understands… I can only give her half a happy life… Because that's what a fucking halfer always does… And she _accepts it_. She knows everything and doesn't mind… Don't take that chance away from me," he hissed, close to begging. "She loves me, Miroku… She knows and she still does…! And I do… I feel the same way… I ain't lying…!"

The dark eyes of the other man narrowed painfully. "But you don't understand… even if I allowed the two of you to wed… you could not mate her."

Inuyasha's widened. "What?"

"Your youkai blood has marked and chosen. You can't untie yourself from Kagome-sama… This is why the pull will never go away."

The color drained from the hanyou's face. Miroku sighed. "You can't extend Nashiko's life. You will see her age and perish; like you will see me, and most of us. This makes me worry for your happiness, too, my friend."

Inuyasha swallowed thickly.

"Could you tolerate watching her die?"

* * *

 **A/N:** As usual, this chapter requires 2 reviews so I can post the next one!


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